The Prison
by Solangelo-Infection332
Summary: The Winter is over. Merle is still undercover with the Governor. Daryl's about to pop and the Pack needs a place to stay for more than a couple of nights. Nothing says "Home Sweet Home" like orange and strips. And what's this about a war? Based on Season Three. Part four of the TWD Omegaverse series.
1. Oh Shit!

The Pack moves quickly, taking out the Walkers. Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Carl go through the front door and start clearing the first floor of the house. Carl checks the kitchen while Rick checks the pantry. The Prime shines the flashlight on a door inside the small closet and goes to open it, throwing the door open and finding an arrow in his face. Daryl stood on the other side with his crossbow level with Rick's eyes. He lowers it with a chuckle and pulls his Alpha in to scent his neck before moving on. Rick purrs and watches Daryl go into another room, his stomach swollen with their cub.

This was the last house in the area, their last stop before they go looking for the prison. Seven months pregnant, Daryl was past due and they needed to get him in a secure place before he gave birth to the baby. T-Dog follows Daryl upstairs and they hear the others whistle. Down stairs was clear, and the rest of the Pack would be moving in.

Carl opens the door and whistle for the others, Glenn and Maggie being the first ones through. Both Alphas were baring Mating Bites now, the result of a frantic panic from a close encounter with a herd a few weeks before. Next was Sophia and Carol; Carl scents the young Omega with a purr. Soon he would ask permission to court her; she was his best friend. Hershel and Beth follow afterwards, and they close the door. T-Dog comes down empty handed but Daryl had an owl he was plucking and sticking the feathers in a pillow case. No one says anything to him about his obvious nesting instincts, especially when he starts throwing away all the bloody ones. There wasn't enough meat on it for everyone, so they would have to hunt for more later and mix the meat.

They had barely settled down when T-Dog whistled for Walkers, sending everyone back outside to the cars and back to the back roads they'd been driving the last month. They pile out of the cars and make a perimeter while Glenn, Maggie, Daryl and Rick look over the map.

"We have nowhere else to go." Glenn sighs, "When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off. We won't make it any further south. That takes out three more schools we can't get to."

"The food in the schools are only getting us so far. Most of it, if not all, has already gone bad by the time we get there. We need to find another source, or we make for the prison now. Winter's over for the most part, we can plant when we get walls." Maggie says.

"We head to the prison." Hershel come up to them. "I know you don't like it Daryl, but your past due. We need a place for you to nest and feel comfortable to give birth or we could lose you both."

The Theta hums, looking at the map. "How many did you say there was? 150 head?"

"That was last week." Glenn leans over the map. "Could be twice that now."

"Then we make for the prison." Rick says.

"Mind if we hit the creek. We need to fill up on water and we can boil it later." T-Dog says, gesturing for the Alpha couple to come with him.

"Knock yourselves out, just stay within hearing distance." Rick chuckles.

"Hey." Daryl notches an arrow in his crossbow, "While the others wash their panties, let's go hunt. That bird ain't gonna be enough."

The couple make their way into the trees, both stopping to scent Carl where he was helping Carol and Sophia clean the weapons. They get out far enough to hear if they're needed but still have privacy. Rick is ready when Daryl kisses him, a purr in his throat. They didn't have time alone on the run and hadn't been able to scent each other properly since the night Lori was banished all those months ago. Rick and Carl had both felt it when she finally died and had both felt sad when it happened, even though they felt guilty for it. The Beta hadn't been the best mother or Mate, but the bond was still there, however weak. Rick and Daryl were going to wait to exchange Bites until after the cub was born and they had a place they could stay for a while. They didn't know if it would send Rick into rut or Daryl into another heat.

They simply kiss and scent each other until both of them smelled heavy of the other, then they started hunting. After a few squirrels and a rabbit or two, they found it; the prison. There were Walkers in the fields they would have to clear out, but most of the building was still standing. At the very least, a cell block was.

"That's a damn shame." Daryl looks it over from the hill.

"We can make it work." Rick purrs. "We clear the courtyard first, make camp. If we need to push further, we can. But that's plenty of room for us to live and farm. Let's get the others, see if we can't find a way to get the cars up there from the road."

"Find the tracks." Daryl kicks one of the rails they were walking on.

"I'll follow this down there." Rick nods to the rails, "Go get the others to circle round and try to find them. I'll meet you there." He kisses his Omega again and they split up.

Rick gets to the road and manages to push one of the cars blocking the way to the prison off the road by the time the others meet up with him. Rick grabs some bolt cutters and cuts a hole in the fence, getting everyone through and the hole closed with a wire and metal clasps just as a Walker hits it. The Walkers in the prison yard, and on the outside, follow the Pack while they run to the gate.

"It's perfect." Rick says looking out into the yard. "We need to shut the gate to the inner yard, prevent more from filling in. We could have this place by nightfall."

"How do we shut the gate?" Hershel asks.

"I'll do it." Glenn volunteers, "You guys cover me." Rick almost purrs at how much the Alpha had grown, even just in the month he'd been Mated.

"You, Maggie, T-Dog and Beth, draw as many as you can along the fence, pick them off there. Daryl," Rick turns to his lover, "go to the other tower down there and take point. Carol, Sophia, you two have become good shots. Take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste. I want you two up in this tower. Carl, you and Hershel, are in that one up there. I run for the gate. Go."

Everyone splits up and Glenn grabs the fence for cars to go through, waiting for Rick's signal. The Prime makes sure he has another pair of cables with metal clasps with him before nodding for the Alpha to open the gate.

He moves fast, taking out Walkers as he goes. Daryl shoots one that gets to close, and Rick rumbles his thanks even though his lover can't hear him. Carol attempts to help by shooting another one that gets too close to the Alpha and ends up putting a bullet in the ground between his feet.

"Sorry!" She calls out to him. The others pick off Walkers, making sure each one is a headshot. Rick gets to the fence and kicks one of the Walkers back, closing it and locking it up. He opens the door to the tower inside the yard and shoots a Walker, closing the door before more can get close enough. The Pack waits until he's upstairs before Daryl gives the signal.

"Light 'em up!" Soon it's a free for all, everyone shooting anything moving in the yard without worrying it's one of their own. When the last of the Walkers fall, everyone makes their way to gate. Rick waits for Daryl to join them, the Omega panting with one hand on his hip from running, before opening it up for the Pack.

"OH!" Carol laughs, "We haven't had this much space since the farm!"

Carl and Sophia laugh and run around chasing each other and taking their knives to all the Walkers heads, making sure each one was a kill shot. Rick purrs at the sight of them doing that; as sad as it was that it was a game for them to see how many things they could stab so it didn't come back to hurt them. Glenn finds a Walker trying to get up and kills it, making a fake lunge at Sophia as she passes. The Omega squeals and runs to her mom, laughing. Glenn chuckles and wraps his arm around Maggie's shoulders, purring loudly. Everyone was.

"Let's get our vehicles in and set up camp." Rick calls for their attention, "We need to get all the bodies together and piled up, we'll burn them tomorrow."

Everyone gets to work pulling the cars in and getting their supplies out. Sophia takes one for the team and has Daryl show her how to gut and skin the animals they were going to eat that night, so he wouldn't try to help move the bodies. From the glare he gets from him, Rick can tell the hunter knew the real reason behind the Omega bonding and he wasn't impressed. The Alpha had to laugh.

They have everything set up by dusk and the smell of food has everyone coming together around the firepit. Rick leaves them to it while he walks the fence again; he wanted to make sure they wouldn't be in any danger through the night. Everyone deserves a good night sleep for once. Daryl was on top of the bus, pacing. His cub was kicking up a storm and he needed to do something, so he was guarding the gate. Rick had come by three times by now, doing his walk of the perimeter.

"Here." Carol places a platter of meat on top of the overturned bus and pulls herself up. Daryl helps her keep her balance, then picks up the food. "It's not much, but you need food for your baby and if I don't bring you something you'll try to not eat at all."

While Daryl eats, Carol starts rubbing her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"The rifle, the kickback." Carol shrugs, "Just not used to it."

"Here. Let me." Daryl puts the empty plate down and licks his fingers clean, then presses on the pressure points to loosen up the muscle. "Better get back."

"I don't know. This is pretty romantic." Daryl rolls his eyes at the other Omega while she grins at him, "Want to screw around?"

"Phftt." Daryl blows a raspberry, making Carol laugh, "I've got an Alpha."

"Some like watching Omegas play with each other, pookie." Carol grins and tries to hold in her laugh.

The woman had really come out of her shell, especially since her and Daryl had gone on a run together and the Omega had fought with a street dog over a poncho because the material was soft and warm. Daryl hadn't understood why he wanted it so bad, until Carol explained that he was gathering stuff for his nest for when he had the baby. Carol had watched him kill the dog and take it with them for dinner to gain some of his street cred back, but it was ruined by the dog's tag in his pocket with the word 'Pookie' on it. The damn woman hadn't let him live it down since.

Daryl shake his head and starts making his way down, "I'll go down first."

"Even better." Carol laughs.

"Stop." Daryl huffs out a chuckle of his own. They make it to the group just as Rick does. Daryl nods to his Alpha and goes to see Hershel.

"How are you feeling?" The Elder asks as the Omega sits by him.

"Fine." Daryl grunts, "Little Asskicker going to restless all night, I can tell."

The group laughs. Daryl had taken to calling the baby Asskicker because every kick seemed aimed at his bladder. Carl had been the first to feel the pup, just like they wanted. Daryl had taken to sleeping in Rick's tent with the two of them and Carl had been curled up with them after Lori died, silent tears in his eyes. Daryl was grooming the pup's hair from where it was resting on his stomach when the little Alpha had bolted up with a chirp. It sent both Rick and Daryl on guard until Carl explained he felt like something had hit him in the face. The Omega took his hand and placed it on his still small stomach and wait for another kick. Rick wished they still had cameras to capture the look of pure joy on Carl's face.

"Let's get a good night sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." Rick tells his Pack, "I know we're all exhausted, but we just have to push a little more. These Walkers are prisoners and guards, which means their supplies may still be in tack if this place fell early. An infirmary, a commissary."

"An armory?" Daryl asks.

"That would be outside the prison itself but not too far. Food, medicine, weapons; this place is a gold mine. We have to go in and get it though." Rick looks at Daryl, "This place could be made safe enough to have the baby. You're a month overdue because we haven't found a place safe enough for you to nest, not to mention the stress. This could be it."

"Then let's get some sleep." The Theta gets up. Carl follows him to their tent. Rick makes sure everyone was settled before going in and laying down next to them.

…

"I'm going!" Daryl snarls with black eyes. The Pack was watching silently while the Theta and Prime argue.

"You're pregnant Daryl, please." Rick was pleading for the Omega to stay behind in the cleared yard and Daryl wasn't having it.

"You going to make me." Daryl rumbles low.

"No!" Rick glares, "I'm asking you not to."

"I'm going." The Omega glares.

"Fine." Rick snarls, pulling Daryl to him and resting their foreheads together. "But you stay with one of us at all times."

Daryl's eyes soften as he looks at his Alpha; the man was fighting his every instinct to keep him and their cub safe and still respect Daryl's boundaries and the Theta wasn't making it easy. "I'll stay right next to you; hell, you can put me in the middle if you want. But I have to be able to protect our Pack, just like you. How would you feel if I wasn't pregnant but was taking Carl in there, and was trying to keep you on the other side of that gate?"

"Like hell." Rick deflates, "I'm sorry."

"Silly Alpha." Daryl kisses him. "Let's go."

T-Dog, Glenn, Maggie, Rick and Daryl all go through the gate into the inner courtyard, keeping in a tight circle and killing all the Walkers. The others stay on the fence and kill as many as they can through it. They get the first part clear and when they go to turn the corner, Rick pulls them up against the wall with a curse. A smaller fenced in courtyard was filled with Walkers and open.

A few Walkers come out with riot gear and they have to break to take them out.

"DARYL!" Rick knocks a Walker over and pulls the gate close, the Omega right behind him with the cable and clasps. Once it's on they kill the Walkers in gear, pulling the helmet up enough to reach the brain.

"Stop." Rick tells Glenn before he can open the gate for the others.

"But it looks secure?"

"Not by the look of that courtyard it ain't." Daryl points to the fence with the Walkers behind it. "And that's a civilian. Means there's a breach somewhere."

"The inside could be swarming with Walkers from the outside." T-Dog groans.

"What do we do?" Glenn asks, "If there's walls down, we can't rebuild this place."

"We have to push in." Rick moves for the door to the neck cell block while Maggie runs over to inform the others.

When she meets them at the door, Rick opens it. The first few feet are empty of anything and passed the second door is a small rec center. Maggie goes to check one of the doors leading further into the prison, while Glenn checks the one to the cell block. Both are locked. Daryl and T-Dog check for Walkers and Rick goes up to the guard shack. He finds a man who had opted out and pulls off his keys, showing them to his Pack below. They open the door to the cell block first, checking all the cells for any Walkers. Rick checks the door in the back and finds it locked then makes his way up to the second landing to check the cells with Daryl. They find two Walkers locked in the last two cells and are quick to get rid of them. They throw them over the railing and have Glenn and T-Dog remove them while the others come inside.

"It's secure?" Carol asks, looking around.

"This cell block is." Rick purrs, happy to provide his Pack with a new home.

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asks.

"In the morning we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary."

"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asks, horrified. She was looking at one of the cells that had a dead inmate still in it, blood splattered on the walls and mattress from him opting out.

"I found some keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too." Rick says.

Everyone starts looking for different cells to claim as their own. Carl puts his stuff in one of the cells and looks up to see Carol and Sophia in the doorway. The Omega smiles up at her mom and puts her stuff up on the top bunk. Carl looks at the Lambda in shock.

"I'll let Rick and Daryl know, ok?" Carol just smiles and nods before moving into the next one. Sophia pats the bottom mattress and Carl sits down while she pulls out some cards for them to play. Carl purrs and takes his cards from his Mate-to-be.

Glenn and Maggie chose their own cell and check each other over for bites or scratches. Rick goes up to the second level and finds Daryl cleaning his bow and knives in one of the last cells. He sits next to him and kisses his neck, causing the Omega to huff. He pushes the Alpha away and then sighs. "This is it."

"What do you mean?"

"This is where I'll nest." Daryl looks at the cell, "I'll hang some sheets or something up on the bars for a bit of extra privacy when I go into labor. The door closes but the lock is weak enough for me to push it out if I feel too cooped up. You can't open it by just pulling on it from the outside though, already checked. Got a view of the whole block from right out the door, and I can even see most of the courtyards too. It's perfect."

"That mean-?"

"Our baby could be here tomorrow." Daryl smiles.

….

They go out and find the armory later that day, as well as pulling off anything they can from the Walkers. They would need anything they can get to help them while they check the inner tunnels of the prison. Glenn brings spray paint so they can map their way back. Carl stays behind with Carol, Beth, and Sophia. Daryl pushed to come again, not wanting to stay locked in the cell block while Rick could be facing a herd.

Daryl opens the door and locks it behind them and Glenn makes the first arrow before they make their way down. They turn a corner and run into a herd. Maggie and Glenn get separated and when the herd passes, Rick and the others double back to look for them. Hershel passes a Walker that hadn't moved before when he thinks he hears Maggie, and the Walker comes alive, biting into his leg. He trips and screams, alerting the Pack. Rick comes back with a roar and shoots the Walker drawing the herd back on them. T-Dog and Glenn grab Hershel and Rick grabs Maggie who had started wailing at the sight of a bite on her dad's leg. Daryl kills a few Walkers to buy the group time to get away, and they're chased into the Cafeteria. Daryl and T-Dog block the door and barricade it with T-Dog's crowbar.

"Hold him down." Rick pulls off his belt. Daryl sees where it's going and puts all his weight in keeping the man's legs still, instructing Glenn to do the same. The Prime uses his belt as a tourniquet then grabs his hatchet. "Only one way to keep you alive. Look away Maggie."

He brings the hatchet down on the man's leg multiple times, severing it above the bite and making sure it was completely cut off.

"He's bleeding out." Rick says. Hershel had passed out from the pain and shock, and the Prime wanted to howl his pain and fear.

"Rick, down." Daryl stands up with a flashlight and his crossbow ready, shining it on the figures in the kitchen window. The Omega could smell four Alphas and a Beta and was suddenly extremely glad he was wearing a baggy shirt to cover the swell of his stomach. Rick's growl and red eyes when he faces them sends all five men away from the window.

"Holy fuck."


	2. Shit Happens

Daryl keeps the crossbow on the five prisoners even as his Alpha stands up and growls at them.

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl demands from the group. He touches Rick's elbow to let him know he's got it and the Prime turns his attention to trying to stop Hershel's leg from bleeding.

"Who the hell are you?!" One of the prisoners yells back.

"We got to go back, he's bleeding out." Rick tells the others. He pulls Maggie to him, "Put pressure on the knee, hard."

"Why don't you come on out of there." Daryl urges the prisoners, "Nice and slow."

"What happened to him?" One of the Alphas step forward. He was the Prime for the little group; Daryl would have to be extra careful around him.

"He got bit." Daryl tells them.

"Bit?" The Alpha pulls a gun out. T-Dog raises his with a growl and teeth bared, which sends the group stepping back in shock.

"Easy now." Daryl levels the crossbow with the Alpha's head, stepping in front of the Beta, "No one needs to get hurt."

"Do you have medical supplies?!" Glenn walks right past the group to the kitchen, trusting his Pack to have his back when walking past the new group.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" The Alpha points his gun at Glenn, then turns it back on Daryl and T-Dog. "Who the hell are you people, anyway?"

"Don't look like no rescue team." Another Alpha says.

"If a rescue team is what you're waiting for, don't." Rick snarls from where he was holding Hershel up, trying to move him. "Come on we got to go!"

Glenn comes back out with a wheeled table and the get Hershel onto it. "T get the door!"

"You crazy, don't open that!" The Beta yells.

"We got this!" Rick yells.

T-Dog opens the door and body slams the one remaining Walker into the wall, shoving the crowbar under the mask and through the brain. The dead Walker goes down and they wheel Hershel out. Rick calls for his lover as Daryl was keeping his bow on the group, daring them to follow. Rick leads the way, guiding them through the maze and following the arrows to get back to C block, were the rest of their Pack was. T-Dog and Glenn move Hershel and Maggie keeps pressure on the wound, Daryl brings up the rear, watching for Walkers and the prisoners.

"Stop, stop." Rick calls to them. Everyone waits while they watch to see who was following them.

"Follow the flashlight man. Come on." The prisoners. Rick leads them forward again and has Daryl unlock the door for them.

"Open the door!" Rick calls to Carl. The young Alpha opens it and the Pack closes it behind them.

"He got bit." Rick tells the others. They move Hershel into the cell he claimed as his own and Carol starts to instruct everyone to get towels.

"Can you stabilize him?" Rick asks the Lambda.

"I need to keep his leg elevated. GET SOME PILLOWS!" Maggie hold Beth while they cry. "He's already bled through the sheets."

"We could burn the stump; try to clot the blood. I can start a fire." Glenn tries to help.

"No, that could send him into shock, which would kill him. Besides, it won't stop the arteries from bleeding. We just need to keep it dressed and let it heal on its own." Carol jumps when a loud yell echoed around them. Daryl was upset.

"What was that?" Beth asks.

"Prisoners; survivors. Daryl and T are distracting them, but I got to go before they shoot at one of us." Rick leaves the cell, Glenn following. Rick turns to the other Alpha. "I need you here. If he dies-"

"I got it." Glenn nods to the door. "Go."

…..

Daryl and T-Dog stay outside and wait for the prisoners to come out of the tunnels. Their Prime is the first one out, the Beta following and the other Alphas behind him. Daryl took note of that; the Beta was the Prime's prison bitch.

"That's far enough." Daryl call to them once they were all just inside the door. He stays behind one of the tables, hiding the swell of his belly.

"Cell block C. Cell 4- that's mine, gringo. Let me in."

"Today's your lucky day, fellas." Daryl levels the crossbow at them, "You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia. You're free to go."

"What you got going on in there?"

"It ain't none of your concern."

The Prime grabs his gun, "Don't be telling me what's none of my concern."

Daryl stands up fully and growls, turning the bow on the Alpha only. T-Dog steps up too, his gun pointing at the Alpha.

"Chill man." One of the bigger Alphas says, "Dude's leg is messed up. Plus, you heard the Omega, we're free to go. Why are we still in here?"

"Omega?" The Alpha looks at Daryl with a new eye, "I don't see a Mark. You this Pack's Breeder? Open to use for whoever? Who let you out of your bed and gave you a weapon?"

"The fuck you just call me?!" Daryl snarls. He moves from behind the table and gets closer to the Alpha to get a better aim. T-Dog pulls him back with a growl, putting himself between them.

"Damn it Tomas, why don't you think with your head and not your knot." The last Alpha speaks up. "Look at him; he's pregnant. Far enough along to be nesting. That's why they're so protective of the cell block."

"This is my house, my rules, and I'll go where I damn well please." Tomas points his gun at T-Dog. Rick comes out of the cell block with a warning rumble, the prisoners catch a glimpse of Carl through the bars, locking the door and glaring at them. The pup's eyes flash red and then he's gone from view. Rick makes his way between his Pack and Tomas; he places a hand on the back of T-Dog's neck and the Beta falls back, gun lowered. He places a hand on Daryl's bow, and the Omega points it at the ceiling with a scowl. Daryl didn't like it but this way the prisoners knew who was in charge here.

"There a problem here?" Rick rumbles.

"How many of you are there?"

"Too many for you to handle."

"Can't you take that guy to a hospital?"

Rick and his Pack exchange glances. "How long you guys been locked in that cafeteria?"

"Going on month ten." Tomas looks at his Pack.

The big guy speaks up, "A riot broke out. Never seen anything like it."

Then the Beta, "Heard about dudes going cannibal; dying and coming back to life."

"One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria. Told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back."

"That was 292 days ago."

"294 by my count-"

"SHUT UP!"

"We figured the National Guard, or the Army would be showing up any day now."

"There's no Army." Rick tells them.

"What do you mean?"

"No government, hospitals, police. It's all gone." Rick rumbles.

"For real?"

"Serious."

"What about my mom's?" Big Tiny asks.

"My kids? My Mate? Do you got a cell phone or something we can uses to call our families?"

"You don't get it do you?" Daryl huffs.

"No phones, no computers. As far as we can see, half the population has been wiped out, at least. Probably more."

"No way." Tomas huffs.

"See for yourself." Rick leads them outside. The quiet gets to them first. All the white noise people never thought about before was gone; cars, planes, the hum of electricity in the powerlines. The bugs and birds were silent and the only sound for miles was the creek outside the fences.

"Damn the sun feels good."

"Good lord. They're all dead."

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences."

"How the hell did you get in here anyway? You never said." The Beta says.

"Cut a hole in the fence by that guard tower." Daryl tells them.

"That easy huh?"

"Where there's a will there's a way."

"Easy for you to say."

"Is this like a disease?" Big Tiny pokes at one of the Walkers with his stick.

"Yeah. And we're all infected." Rick tells them, "It's airborne; you die, you turn. Don't have to be bit."

"What do you mean infected?" Axel asks, "Like AIDS or something?"

"If I was to kill you," Daryl lifts his bow, "shoot an arrow in your chest, you'd come back as one of those things. It's gonna happen to all of us."

"Ain't no way you and yours are responsible for killing all these freaks." Tomas huffs.

"Most be 50 bodies out here." Andrew agrees.

"Where'd you come from?" Tomas looks at Rick.

"Atlanta."

"Where you heading?"

"As of now, nowhere."

"I guess you can take that area down there near the water." Tomas points to the corner of the yard. "Should be enough room for your Pack."

"We're using that field for crops." Rick growls.

"We'll help you move your gear out."

"That won't be necessary." Rick bares his teeth at Tomas; a challenge. "We took out these Walkers, this prison is ours."

"Slow down cowboy."

"You snatched the locks off our doors." Andrew growls at Rick.

"We can give you new locks if that's how you want it." Rick looks at the Beta.

"This is our prison." Tomas shrugs, "We were here first."

"Locked in a broom closet." Rick scoffs. "We took this place, set you free. It's ours, we spilled blood."

"We're moving back into our cell block."

"You'll have to get your own."

"It is mine. I've still got personal artifacts in there. That's about as mine as it gets." Tomas pulls out his gun and Daryl sets his loaded crossbow against the Alpha's temple.

"Cell four, right?" Daryl huffs, "Two minutes and your shit will be over the fence. Got anything else you want to say?"

"Wait, please." Axel looks at Rick.

Tomas looks at the other Prime. "Call off your Breeder."

"Excuse me?" Daryl growls.

"What kind of Omega knows how to use that shit anyway?" Andrew huffs, "You one of them New-School fuckwits?"

Daryl pulls out his pistol and points it at Andrew. He had both of them under his weapons and still waited for Rick to give him the signal.

"My MATE." Rick emphasizes the word, "Will kill you the next time you say some shit like that. And yeah, we are New-School."

"I don't see a bite yet he's carrying." Tomas growls, "It's what he is."

"Man did you not see what happened to that guy's leg?" Big Tiny asks, "He got bit and they cut it off. Bites are dangerous now, that's probably why he doesn't have one."

"Your friends smart." Daryl growls, "Maybe he should have been the Prime."

Tomas snarls and flashes his eyes at Omega. Rick pulls out his own gun and points it at Tomas.

"Wait!" Axel gets between them, "Maybe we can find a way to make this work out, so everyone can win."

"I don't see that happening."

"Neither do I."

The two Packs come to an agreement; half the food in the cafeteria goes to Rick, and they help the prisoners clean out a new cell block for them. Rick and the others go back to the cafeteria and load up their half of the food, carrying everything into the cell block. The prisoners help, and when Tomas gets too close to the door, Carl slams it shut with a growl. Glenn comes out of one of the cells, followed by two females, an older Alpha that share his bite and a little Omega barely presented. Daryl growls at him and gets in front of him until he backs away from the door. They set the rest of the food in the rec room, Daryl not moving from the entrance to the Pack's home, and Carl refusing to unlock the door while they're there.

They wait until they're about to leave before giving the prisoners weapons, all blunt. Tomas picks up a crowbar and huffs. "Why do I need this when I have a gun?"

"You don't fire guns unless your back's against the wall." Daryl tells him, "One shot and you'll bring a herd down on you. They're drawn by noise."

"Make sure you go for the brain; a headshot is the only thing that takes them down." Rick reminds them.

"Don't have to tell us how to take down a man."

"They ain't men." T-Dog huffs, "They're something else."

…..

The three from Rick's Pack just watch the prisoners as they ignore everything they were told, and go prison riot like on the two Walkers, stabbing at the stomach and hitting it with the objects.

"Let's just leave them." Daryl huffs, "Ain't like we owe them shit if they ain't gonna listen."

"Can we Alpha?" T-Dog looks at Rick.

"Come on." Rick goes up to the first Walker and takes it out, Daryl shoots the other on the ground once the prisoners get clear of it. Rick turns to the group. "We do it like we said, or we leave you to it yourself. The head and stay in formation. No more of that prison riot crap."

They keep going and find more Walkers. They lose Big Tiny when he gets scratched by a Walker; Tomas kills him without a second thought. T-Dog leads them further down the tunnel and Daryl gets close to Rick.

"You see the look on his face?"

"He makes one move-"

"Just give me the signal."

They get to the laundry room and Daryl tosses his keys to Tomas. Tomas ignores Rick's warning to only open one door, and the herd comes pooling into the room.

"I said only one!"

"Shit happens!"

Tomas keeps close to Rick as he takes out the Walkers. He takes a couple of swings at Rick, and the Alpha is careful enough to dodge many blows that could have taken his head off. The Prime knew what was going on; Tomas was Traditional. When it came to territory, taking out a competing Alpha means the winner gets everything from that Pack. Food, shelter, members. Tomas was after Rick's position, and his family. And from the looks he was sending Daryl….

Tomas throws a Walker on top of Rick and Daryl's quick to save his Alpha, driving the knife into the Walkers head. He helps Rick to his feet and the Alpha flashes his eyes at the Omega. The signal to take out Tomas. Daryl waits until he's on his feet, then turns his bow on the prison bitch Beta. T-Dog keeps the others in his sight, gun safety off.

"It was coming at me, bro." Tomas tries to play it off.

"Yeah I get it." Rick growls, "Shit happens."

Rick drives his axe into Tomas's head, kicking him off the blade. Andrew takes off running and Rick follows. Daryl has Oscar get on his knees with no protest. The Alpha didn't want to upset a pregnant Omega, he remembered how his Mate was with their little one. T-Dog has Axel get to his knees as well.

Rick chases the Beta into a courtyard filled with Walkers and locks the door behind him. "Come on man, let me back in, please!"

"You better run." Rick flashes the Beta his red eyes. The prisoner turns around and makes a break for the fence. Rick leaves him there, making his way back to the laundry room.

"Rick." Daryl breathes. He goes up to his Alpha with a purr, scenting him. T-Dog keeps an eye on both prisoners while the Prime couple take a minute.

They continue to D block and leave Oscar and Axel to clean out the Walkers with a set of keys. Each prisoner had been zip tied and shot in the head. They remind them of the deal, that the prisoners would stay away from Rick's people, before heading back to their block.

They find everyone in good enough condition, though Carl had left and cleaned out the infirmary by himself without telling anyone. That earned him a lecture from his dad and a pop on the ear from Daryl. Hershel had stopped breathing but Carol had brought him back; and Sophia and Beth had brought in all the food and organized it.

Rick checks on the older man just as he starts to wake up. They prepare to take him out if he turned but he just smiles at his daughters and takes Rick's hand.

"Thank you." The Elder breathes, "For saving me."


	3. Walkers, Guns and Alphas-- OH MY!

Woodbury in the morning was very different to the Woodbury at night. Merle comes back in the morning with food for all of them.

"Good morning ya little shit!" The Beta comes into the infirmary at 8 according to Tara's watch, pushing a cart with a small serving for each of them. He waits until they all started eating and the guards left before talking with them.

"So, Lizzy's your sister?" He asks Tara. The Alpha nods. "Did you know about this place before?"

"No." Tara shakes her head. "I went to find my family because I knew my dad wasn't able to travel. But they weren't at our house or any of our family's. I stopped looking a few months after that. I haven't seen her since Before."

"I thank you." Merle hums, "For not telling him about me. If he found out-"

"He'd have killed you and used Michonne and Andrea to find the rest of your Pack." Tara finishes for him. "You guys have pups. I understand your need to make sure, 100%, that we're trustworthy, and my sister being the Luna here puts me as a liability. I get it. But me and my sister weren't close; really it was Megan and our dad that kept us in contact for years. Now that they're gone…"

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

"The Governor wants to meet you, and he'll tried to feed you more food." Merle says, "But that's not until later and he wants me to give you guys the tour."

"Why you?" Michonne asks.

"I told him I knew Andrea from the Quarry." Merle rubs his eyes, "He wants me to find out if you guys have a group or not. They found the helicopter guy's group and killed them earlier at first light. Brought the stuff back and had the guy killed. He wants to know if he can get anything out of you. If anyone here asks…..."

"We have the clothes on our backs." Sasha nods.

"Come on." Merle pats his knee. "Let's get this show on the road."

….

"How many people do you have here?" Andrea asks.

"73." Merle nods at one of the women who was pregnant. "Eileen's almost due so her pup will make 74."

"Is it safe?" Bob asks.

"Wall's haven't been breached by Walker's in over a month." They took note of the word Walkers. People though… "And we haven't suffered a casualty on the inside since early winter."

"How's that possible?" Tyreese huffs.

"Our Governor set a strict curfew. No one out past dark unless they're on the wall." Another hint. "Noise and lights are kept to a minimum. Keeps out the Walkers."

They stay together and once the other Woodbury citizens were far enough away Merle turns to the group. "Alphas are on the back and front walls only, Betas on the sides that lead to the forest. That will be your best bet of getting out if they won't let you go out of the front."

"Why wouldn't they let us out the front?" Michonne asks.

"Because they need more Alphas." Merle says, "They don't want Betas on the walls at all, but they don't have enough Alphas willing to do the job, they all want to go outside and scavenge. Four of you are Alphas, plus a Beta and an Omega. Sasha will never be allowed out the front gate, she'll have to go over the walls. Andrea can walk whenever; they like to send Betas as scavengers because as far as the Governor is concerned, we're expendable. The Alphas though, they'll give chase; either kill you or run you through the dirt and make you come back just to get them to leave you alone, but then you owe them."

"How will we get out then?" Tara asks.

"We'll need to think of something." Merle stands up straighter, seeing the Governor and his scientist Milton coming towards them. "Later. The show is on."

….

Michonne was doing her part of the plan and walking around, staring at the walls with intent, then meeting with Tara near the big trucks the Governor and his men got from the Army camp. The two Alphas run their fingers over every bullet hole and Michonne checks the guns on top for ammo that could have suggested a fight with another group instead of a slaughter. All of them were empty and there was blood in the truck bed, which she shows to Tara. One of the Woodbury Alphas had to have told the Governor what they were up too.

"Pretty amazing huh?" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. "We find more ammo and we can cut down a whole pack of Biters."

The two Alphas turn to the man. "We want to leave. And I want my katana."

"That's a shame." The Alpha sighs, "We could use more soldiers like you."

"More Alphas you mean." Tara sees the man's jaw twitch. "Only Alphas on the walls, only Alphas going out on scavenges with a few Betas that like to act like Alphas. Makes me wonder if this place is supposed to be Delta."

The Governor breathes out a laugh, like he was relieved that that was their only thought. Interesting. "No. The Alphas and Betas that scavenge are there because they volunteer for it."

"Where are the other Omegas?" Michonne asks, "We don't see them besides Sasha and she's one of ours."

"Ours?" The Alpha's eyes narrow.

"We met out there." Tara cuts in. "My Pack found Michonne and Andrea and offered them a place with us since they lost their old Packs."

"Oh." The man relaxed.

"Come on." Michonne jerks her head toward the road when she realizes she wasn't going to get an answer regarding the other Omegas, "I want to see my Mate."

As they pass the truck again, Tara runs her fingers along the door, "Lots of bullet holes. Almost makes you wonder if Walkers have learned to use guns huh?"

….

Andrea hands Merle the map her and the Pack had been going over. "The red is the path we've already taken. Sasha and Ty, Bob, Tara, Michonne and I all put down the places we've been since the outbreak. Good luck to the Governor trying to figure that out."

"No shit." Merle laughs looking at it. "What's the green?"

"False leads on where we'll be going when we get out. The coast, back towards Atlanta, Florida." Merle nods. Andrea clears her throat and points out the orange circles. "The Quarry, the CDC…. and the farm. That was the last place I saw Daryl. I didn't put the town on there; didn't even point it out, in case the Governor sends people out to those areas. They don't need to be anywhere near OUR family."

Merle swallows around the lump in his throat and traces the circle around the farm. "Thank you."

"I'd want the same thing if it was my family; if it were Amy." Andrea says, "I know Daryl means a lot to you."

"Thank you, Andrea." Merle looks at her, "I can't repay this."

"You're family now and Pack." Andrea smiles, "You don't need to. Now let's go over how we're getting the others out of here."

….

The Governor was at the side wall hitting golf balls off the top during Merle's next shift. He climbs up but stays out of the way, waiting to be acknowledged by the Alpha as was protocol.

"Beta." The next ball hit a Walker with enough force to go clean through its head; a kill. The Governor was frustrated then.

"Prime." Merle knew that just Alpha wouldn't do, not now. All that would have earned him was another punishment, and he still hadn't healed completely from the last one. Merle would never tell his Pack that bringing them to Woodbury had gotten him a beating by every Alpha in the scavenging party that night. They didn't need to know he suffered to keep one of them alive; wasted resources on outsiders as far as the Woodbury men were concerned. They didn't need to know that each time one of them left, not coming back, it would cost him ten lashes. He'd taken worse at the hands of his Pa and overseas; if it meant their protection, it was a price he'd pay repeatedly. Until it killed him.

"Do you have the map or not?" The Alpha snaps. Merle hands it over without hesitation, having already gone over it with Andrea and working out each kink. The Governor growls at the paper and glares at Merle. "What the hell is this shit?"

Merle explains the map as vaguely as he could, playing it off as if he wasn't sure it was correct. "Andrea's still mad at me for some things that happened back at the Quarry. Me and the Prime there didn't get alone and I was a bit of an ass. She didn't give me much to figure it out but I thought-"

"Don't think next time." He growls, "Get the information and be done with it. Dismissed."

"Yes Prime." Merle leaves and sends another Beta to take over watch for him. Step two complete. Now to get Michonne and Tara out of here and back to Morgan. If his Prime would accept Tara, he'd accept her whole Pack, and they'd be that much closer to being rid of the Governor.

…

For some reason the Governor decided that the next day was going to be a party. The turned all the generators they had on to make cold drinks and a lot of food. Merle could only guess that it was because Michonne and Tara would be leaving the day after, so the Alpha was trying to show them what they would be missing when they left. The whole Pack stays together and tries to keep their distance from the rest of Woodbury, which the people notice. The group plays it off so their plans aren't compromised, giving hints that they were worried their Alphas would get mad if they were found speaking with the other people for even a few moments.

Lizzy ignores all those signs and goes straight to her sister. Tara lets her but keeps her away from the others.

"How did you survive alone out there?" Lizzy asks her. "Without an Alpha or anything?"

"Damn it Liz." Tara huffs, "I'm an Alpha. You seem to forget that, a lot. Or maybe the fact that I'm a female Alpha cancels it out in your mind, but I can take care of myself. Plus, I had my Pack."

"But me, dad and Megan weren't with you."

"Not you guys, my Pack." Tara points over to the others. Bob and Tyreese were staying close to Sasha, growling anytime an Alpha or Beta approached her with the wrong intent. Andrea and Michonne were together sitting down, the Alpha keeping an eye on everything and everyone.

"Oh." Lizzy's voice changes.

"Don't act like that." Tara scowls, "You got a new Pack too. And a Mate, who doesn't appear to want to come out and play at his own party."

"He's letting Penny out for some air." Liz stiffens, "I can't stand being in the room with that thing."

"Penny?" Tara digs for information.

"His daughter." Liz almost grins at Tara's horrified expression. "Or what left of her in his mind. He pulled out her teeth and nails and keeps it in a strait jacket, but he still thinks she's alive. He keeps her Walker in the closet in the apartment. I never stay to watch them; it reminds me too much of Megan and the little girl when she was alive. I thought of as her as own my daughter. Now I've lost two."

"What is he doing up there with it?!" Tara keeps her voice down so the other Woodbury people wouldn't hear the conversation.

"Dresses it, brushes its hair." Lizzy makes a face. "It's kind of gross but I guess it's his way of coping."

"That's dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as what he was doing before." Liz argues, "He became obsessed with expanding, wanted more groups to join to expand the empire, so to speak. We lost a good number of Alphas trying to take a prison not to far from here. We were going to use it for crops and stuff. Now though…. This is better."

It's almost an hour later when the Governor shows up to address the people, Liz following him. Tara uses that time to inform the others of the Walker in the man's apartment.

"That's sick." Andrea says, "Keeping the Walkers of passed love ones I can understand, but undressing and redressing them, brushing their hair, bathing them…. That's sick."

"I was here when she died." Merle shakes his head, "Him and Liz were hurting but I didn't realize…. We have to get you out of here. Soon."

While the others partied and kept up appearances, Michonne breaks into the Governor's apartment to get their weapons. She finds a notebook on the table and goes through it, finding pages that describe the walls and the guard rotations. There was a list on names who the Alpha guesses are the people that died there. The last name was Penny, bold and underlined; then there was six pages front and back with dash marks. Then a few more pages of people who died and other things regarding Woodbury.

Michonne sees the Governor on his way up with some of his men and bolts, hiding in a closet out in the hall until the go inside, then makes her way to her Pack. She takes the backway, so the Woodbury Alphas wouldn't see her and finds something strange. Cages with Walkers, their teeth pulled, and nails stripped. She breaks off the lock and draws her sword, killing all of them. One of the guards comes out to feed them and finds her.

The Alpha guards drag her back to the Governor's apartment and send one of the Betas to get him. Merle comes up with him to check on the Alpha. Killing those Walkers hadn't been part of the plan. Michonne has a busted lip and a cut on her cheek and the Beta almost shifts to kill the fucker who hurt her. Then he sees Martinez with a black eye, his wrist being splinted and bound by the doctor; Michonne gave as good as she got.

"Do you get off on killing Walkers?" The Governor's voice was calm. That was dangerous. "Poking around with other people's things? Disregarding the rules? We have nothing to hide here."

"People with nothing to hide don't feel the need to say so."

"That's fair. We all have our secrets, huh?"

"Like the Walkers?" Michonne stares at the other Alpha, "Like Penny?"

The Governor's eyes harden and he growls. "You know about Penny?"

When Michonne refuses to answer the Governor laughs. "You broke the rules. Whether you want to believe it or not, the people here think that the rules are what's keeping them alive. I let what you did get out and it causes anarchy. So how about a deal; I'll keep it a secret and you join the research team. You're not scared of biters and you have the skill. But if you say no, remember…. we have your Mate and your Pack. I believe one of them is an Omeg-"

Michonne pulls out her sword and has it at the Governor's neck before he could finish the word. Merle stands up and growls, threatening. The Alpha would assume he was growling at Michonne and didn't bother correcting him, so he didn't see the pure hatred in the Beta's eyes aimed at him. Michonne and Tara were still leaving, but now they had to get Sasha out tonight if possible. They couldn't risk it, not with the way the Governor had used her as a threat to keep the Alpha in line.

Michonne backs away and waits until she's at the door before putting her sword away. She shoots a look at Merle and he nods for her to leave. He'd be ok here. The Alpha waits until she's gone before turning to Merle. The first hit doesn't come as a surprise and he lets himself fall to the ground. When the Governor shifts and mounts him though, he fights back. He shifts as well and goes for the Alpha's throat. Merle had never been mounted fully before, and the only one that he would ever allow to do so now was Morgan, his Mate.

The Governor takes the rejection about as well as Merle thought he would and attacks with a ferocity he hadn't shown since Penny died. Their snarls and growls reach the street, silencing most of the people for a few minutes, before they carry on. Michonne watches the door with an understanding and loathing that makes Andrea wary of approaching her. They watch as Merle's wolf jumps from the doorway when Liz opens it, scrambling to the wall on three legs. He stops in front of Martinez and shifts back, breathing heavy. Michonne hears the others growling when they see the blood on his face. He was talking to the Alpha General, and then they were packing up a truck and leaving.

…..

They get back just as Michonne and Tara were getting their weapons handed back to them, Michonne's katana never leaving her back. Merle hops out of the moving truck, but the others stay and keep going until they reach the Walker pin.

"Where ya'll running off to in such a hurry? The party's still going on."

"We're leaving." Michonne says low. She didn't want to go, to leave her Mate and her Pack here. She didn't want to leave Merle. But she walked out the front gate with Tara at her side. She could hear Andrea's whine and almost turned back. Andrea almost ran after her, but Merle closed the gate. They had to do this. Sasha needed to get out of here and Andrea was still part of that plan. The two Alphas would wait outside the fence for her and the three of them would push on for Morgan and the pups. They couldn't do that if they didn't let the two Alphas go. Andrea broke down in Merle's arms right in front of the gate.

Michonne got about half a mile before breaking down, sliding down a tree with a quivering lip. It hurt leaving them, and she didn't think she could move any further away. Tara sits on the ground next to her and tried to give comfort as much as she could.

Merle had told all of them what the Walkers were about and what was going to happen after dark. That was the best time to get Sasha out of there. While everyone was distracted, she would sneak over the wall and meet up with the others, then they would make their way back to the helicopter crash and get to the car of supplies they left there. After that they would move on to Morgan.

The music was loud, and the fence was unguarded as all the Alphas and Betas were in the stands cheering while Merle and Martinez fought in the circle of Walkers. Bob and Tyreese had escorted Sasha to the wall to get out, under the guise that she was feeling sick from eating too much after not having food on the run and they would stay with her to make sure she was ok. In the morning Tyreese would make a big deal of accusing every Alpha there of taking her because she was an Omega and making sure everyone knew they weren't happy at Woodbury, especially the Governor. It would take heat off Michonne and Tara leaving and have all of them scrambling to find a way to appease the pissed Alpha.

Andrea watches as Merle pushes Martinez into a Walker with a kick and then pushes it away, letting the Alpha get up again. She shakes her head and tries to leave, seeing Bob at the bottom of the bleachers, just as planned. He would grab Andrea and head back to the apartment they had been given to wait for morning with Ty. The Governor stops Andrea before she could reach her Packmate.

"Hey where are you going?"

"What the hell is this?!"

"A way to blow off steam."

"Blow off steam?" Andrea gasps, "No you go for a jog to blow off steam. This- this is sick." She pushes off the Governor's hand and goes to Bob's side. As they leave they look at Merle to make sure he was ok and see him standing as the victor, the crowd chanting his name. And for the first time in a long time, the Beta seems miserable in the spotlight.


	4. PAPA!

They spend the next morning bringing in the cars and organizing their supplies. Carol pops her back and looks at Rick, "Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use some help."

"Up in the guard tower." Daryl points.

"Guard tower? Weren't they up there last night?" Rick chuckles.

"GLENN! MAGGIE!" Daryl calls up to them. They see two figures get up suddenly and T-Dog and Carol start laughing. Glenn comes out with no shirt on and buckling up his pants. "Hey! What's up guys?!"

Rick starts laughing too while Daryl puts his hands on his hips, "You coming?"

"What?" Glenn asks. Maggie sees the other three slapping their knees and groans.

Daryl smiles, "Or are you cumming?"

Carol and T-Dog start rolling. Rick calls up to them, unable to keep the amusement from his voice, "Come on. We could use a hand down here."

"Hey Rick?" T-Dog points up at the courtyard, where the two prisoners were walking towards them.

Rick snarls and takes off running, Daryl and T-Dog behind him. "We had a deal."

"We can't stay there anymore. All those bodies; there's ghost."

"Why ain't you taking them out and burning them?" Daryl growls.

"The fence is down over there." Oscar says, "We take one of the bodies out and the Walkers line up. We've just been able to drop them out the door, barely."

"We didn't have anything to do with Tomas and Andrew. We'll do whatever it takes to become part of your group, please, don't make us go back there."

"We would rather hit that road than go back in that shithole." Oscar tells them.

Rick looks at his Pack, they all look at Daryl. Even the prisoners look at the pregnant Omega, who would have the final say. Daryl shakes his head and Rick looks back at the two Alphas. They lock them up in the fenced area they had held the cars and discuss it further, away from them.

"You want them sleeping in a cell next to you?" Rick asks T-Dog, "You want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?"

"I never stopped." The Beta says. "I say we bring them into the fold. We send them packing, we might as well put a bullet between their eyes now and be done with it."

"It's strange having new people around." Maggie sighs, "It's been us for so long, I just don't know."

"They're convicts, bottom line." Carol adds.

"Those two might have less blood on their hands than we do." T-Dog argues.

"I get guys like them." Daryl says. They all stop to listen to him; as the pregnant Theta it was his decision what happens to them. "Hell, I grew up with them. They're degenerates but they ain't phycos. I could have been in there with them just as easy as I'm out here with you guys."

"Then you're with me?" T asks.

"Hell no." Daryl huffs, "We don't know them well and we have pups. If we had more time or had met them out there were we had to stick together at all times just to survive, maybe. But I can't nest if they're in the same cell block."

"Then it's decided. Our deal stands." Rick nods.

"Move the cars to the upper yard." Rick tosses Glenn and Maggie the keys. "Point 'em facing out, they'll be out of the way but ready to go if we ever need to bail."

He turns to T-Dog who was still upset about everything. "We'll give the prisoners a week's worth of supplies for the road."

"They might not last a week."

"Then that's on them. Their choice."

T huffs, "Did they really have one?"

"Hey." Rick grabs T-Dog's arm and let's go when he sees the Beta swallow. He remembered that T-Dog had been raise Traditional and as a Beta it wouldn't have been easy. He calms his voice and shows his throat, so he wouldn't see him as a threat. Rick didn't want anyone in his Pack to be scared to argue or speak their opinion with him. "Hey. If it came down to it, whose blood would you rather have on your hands; one of our Pack, or people we don't know?"

"To be honest Alpha," the Beta shakes his head, "neither."

Rick nods with a purr and pulls T-Dog in to scent him. The Beta sighs in relief and then goes to help the others, a small smile on his face until he sees the prisoners.

Daryl was getting on his bike when the baby kicked, forcing him to wince with a grunt. Axel moved forward like he wanted to help but thinks better of it. He crosses his arms over his chest instead and tries to gauge how the Omega was feeling. "Twin cylinders. That a Triumph?"

"Don't even look at it." Was the growled response he got.

"I got to say something, and it could benefit you." Daryl narrows his eyes at the other Alpha, Oscar. "That food we left in the kitchen, our share. I know we ain't taking it with us. You have people that are going to need it, take it. There was some powdered milk and applesauce with our stuff. The baby might need it later."

"I'll let Rick know." Daryl nods. He hesitates but sighs, "Anything you guys wanted from the food? I can put in a word to have it be part of your supplies."

"We'll be grateful for extra water." The Alpha says. "Don' know when we'll come across more."

Daryl nods and guns the engine, ignoring the next kick to his gut from his cub. They move all the cars to the inner yard and watch as Carol and Beth help Hershel down the stairs and outside.

…..

"There's enough food to last you a week if you ration." Glenn locks the gate. "I'd look for schools or other big places; they have a lot of food stocked but it might not be all good. Be careful what you eat so you don't get sick. We'll cut you lose when we get back."

"Thank you." Axel tells him.

Rick and Glenn go outside the fence looking for wood to burn all the Walker bodies. Daryl had gone back to the cafeteria with Sophia to get the rest of the food, taking the wheeled cart they used for Hershel. Carol and T-Dog were helping with moving the cars around and Carl was watching Hershel with Maggie and Beth.

"Look at that." Glenn laughs as they get back inside the fence with the wood. Rick smiles at the Alpha while he watches Carl steady Hershel as he stumbles, scenting the Elder with a smile.

"He is one tough son of a bitch." Glenn purrs. Rick looks at the Alpha with his own purr. The Asian Alpha was coming into his own; the care at Rick and the Pack's hands had really helped the Alpha come out of his suppression from Before. Everyone was happy.

"No." Rick breathes in horror, both Alphas dropping the firewood at their feet. "CARL! MAGGIE GET THEM OUT OF THERE!"

Glenn Howls a warning and starts tying the fence back together while Rick takes off to the Pack. Carl growls and points his gun at the first Walker, shooting it. Beth grab Hershel and makes their way to a fenced in section of the inner courtyard, closing it behind them. T-Dog and Carol come running and shooting to give Carl and Maggie cover.

"Come on!" Maggie usher Carl back to the C block. The two Alphas are almost in the cells when Walkers come pouring out of it, forcing them to go into the tunnels to escape. Maggie slams the door behind them so they can't follow. They keep walking, knives out and ready for whenever Walkers come around the corner in small enough groups.

When they get cut off by a herd, they turn back and find more coming towards them. Carl grabs Maggie and pushes her into the boiler room, slamming the door shut just as the Walkers reach them. They pound on the door and growl, but the two Alphas manage to lock the door and secure it. They check the whole place and lock all the other doors too but find no Walkers inside.

Carl was whining, scared. Their Pack was split up, surrounded by Walkers, and no one knew where anyone was. Maggie just holds him and prays that the herd passes soon. They hear Glenn outside Howling for their Pack. Hershel and Beth join in, so Maggie does too. Then Carl. Then T-Dog and Carol. Rick was outside, and the Alphas could still feel their bond with him, so he was ok. Where were Daryl and Sophia? They Howl louder.

"That fence is open!" T-Dog yells. He makes his way over to it with Carol right behind him. T-Dog dodges the Walkers hands and gets a hold of the fence, pulling it closed. He feels the Walker at his back, the hand grabbing his shirt and braces himself for what was about to happen. The hand on his head, pushing it down, wasn't something he was prepared for though. He turns to find Carol in tears, a crowbar in the Walkers eyes. They get the fence wired shut and make their way over to Hershel and Beth, killing every Walker that gets too close. Beth was crying as she pulls him into a hug. Hershel looks at where the Walker almost got him and sees the shirt torn with blood on the skin under it.

Carol was still crying, holding Beth as Walkers pound on the fences around them. She hands Hershel a knife, so the Elder could cut the shirt away. He uses the strip he cuts off to wipe the skin clean, fearful he would find scratches under the blood.

"Thank God." Hershel laughs, "You're clear. You're ok."

T-Dog lets out the breath he had been holding with a sob, accepting the hugs he gets from both Carol and Beth. He was ok. He was going to be ok.

"Come on!" Rick fumbles to get the keys in the lock. Glenn was running up to him from the other end of the fence, still Howling in warning. Rick didn't understand why he was still Howling until he felt his bonds come to life with worry and suspicion. Daryl and Sophia. Glenn was Howling to warn them where they were inside the prison and unaware of the freed Walkers. Beth seemed to pick up on that as well because her and Hershel start Howling as well. Rick can hear Maggie and Carl from inside Howling too. The bond spikes with nervousness and fear; it starts getting closer, so Rick knows that the two Omegas are coming towards them. A change in pitch from the Howls has the bond moving away quickly, Daryl could sense the urgency to get away, to hide, and he was taking Sophia with him.

Rick pushes passed the two prisoners and gets the gate open, sprinting to the others with the three Alphas on his heels. Rick and the others start clearing the yard and the Alpha turns to the group behind the fence. "What the hell happened?!"

"The gate was open!" Beth cries. Her and Carol were shooting at Walkers while T-Dog was bracing Hershel. Rick sees the tears on his face and the torn shirt and almost climbs the fence to get to them. Instead he grabs the fence, bending the metal in his hand.

"What happened?" His voice cracks, staring at the Beta.

"I'm ok." T-Dog yells over the gunfire. "Just a close call. Hershel already gave me the clear."

Rick breathes in relief and joins the others in killing Walkers. Once the yard was clear Glenn comes up to the Prime, "That chain wasn't broken on its own. Someone took an axe or cutters to 'em."

Rick growls and flashes red eyes to the two prisoners. He turned around and made his way over to them, growing two feet and sprouting fur. His snout extended from his face and his fangs dropped. Before he could reach the two men an alarm goes off. Walkers start lining the fences and coming out of the woods.

They shoot at the speakers, but the sound still comes out. Rick turns his gun on the two prisoners. "How the hell can this be happening?!"

"It has to be the backup generators!" Oscar raises his hands in defense.

"Well how do you turn those on?!"

"There's three that's connected to a diesel tank, okay? Each one controls a certain part of the prison. The hacks shut 'em all off when the prison was overrun."

"Can someone open up the main gates electronically with full power?!" Rick pointed the gate where Walkers were crowding the fence.

"I only worked in there a few days. I guess it might be possible."

"COME ON!" Rick grabs the Alpha and drags him into the prison.

Rick goes into the cell block and starts shooting the Walkers still lingering there. "CARL! MAGGIE!"

When he gets no answer, he calls for the others, "SOPHIA! DARYL!"

Nothing. He slams and locks the door at the back of cell block to keep more Walkers out.

"There was five out there." Glenn says.

"Four in here." Rick growls. "The others aren't though."

"They must have gotten pushed back into the prison."

"SOMEONE IS PLAYING GAMES!" Rick roars, shifting into his half form. He towers over the others and his eyes weren't just red; they had a hint of yellow to them. The three other Alphas backed away in awe and horror. No one had seen that coloring in an Alpha's eyes before. For Rick to be so pissed he was changing in such a way…

Glenn prayed anyone besides Rick found the one responsible for this. Their death at Rick's hands wouldn't even be able to count as murder.

"Find the generators and SHUT THEM DOWN!" Glenn and the prisoners charge into the tunnels after Rick.

They're chased into the generator room by a herd and Glenn, Axel and Oscar work to keep the door shut; as much as they could when it wouldn't latch. Rick goes looking for a way to shut the system off. "How do you shut these down?!"

"Go! We got this!" Glenn urges Oscar away. The big Alpha leaves the other two to hold the door and goes to help Rick.

"Here!" Oscar goes to flip the switch and Rick dodges an axe. Andrew. Tomas's prison bitch Beta had survived the yard of Walkers and was now trying to kill them all. He swings the axe at Oscar and sends him to the ground, then pushes Rick up against the box of controls. Rick throws him off and into another cabinet, where Andrew reaches for his gun. Rick growls and knocks the gun to the ground. Andrew hits him with the axe and sends him down as well.

Glenn rushes to his side, leaving Axel to hold the door. He knocks into Andrew as a full wolf, hackles raised, and pushes him off his Alpha. His teeth were bared in a fierce looking snarl, his ears pointed to the side and behind him. One for each prisoner.

Glenn's wolf looked beautiful; like a red and tan husky with a black stripe down his back. He kept himself between Rick and Andrew, growling at the Beta anytime he tried to move forward. The Beta was nervous to get closer to the wolf that came up to his chest, but his fake lunges had Glenn running at him, giving him the chance to kick the Alpha away with a yelp. Rick goes to reach for his gun on the ground and finds it in the hands of Oscar, pointed right at him.

"Shoot him!" Andrew yells at the other prisoner, "We can take this prison back. What are you waiting for, shoot him! It's our house!"

Glenn was still getting up and with the two prisoners on either side of him with weapons, Rick braces himself. A shot rings out and Andrew's body hits the ground, a bullet between the eyes. Glenn was on his feet, growling at Oscar, but refusing to move in case the other Alpha was trigger happy.

"No, it was." Oscar turns the gun around, offering it to Rick. "Now it's yours."

Rick takes it and shuts the generators off while Glenn shifts back. "Let's go back."

…

"HERSHEL!" Rick was sprinting towards them. Beth, Carol, T-Dog and Hershel were all still outside. Rick pulls each of them into a hug and scents them, then moves on so Glenn could as well.

"Rick?" T nods at the prisoners.

"Andrew; the Beta from before." Rick shakes his head. "This was all him. They saved our lives. If they don't give us a reason to kill them, they can stay."

The others accept it gracefully. Rick looks around. "Where are the others?!"

"DAD!" Carl was sobbing when he throws his arms around the Prime's waist. Sophia runs to her mom who holds her and wails into her hair with gratefulness. Maggie walks right up to her dad and sister and hugs them, then pulls Glenn into a dominating kiss. He wipes tears from her eyes and scents her, then turns to scent the two pups. Everyone was hugging and weeping, happy to be alive; Oscar and Axel even got a few hugs too.

"Where's Daryl?" Rick asks, his eyes still turned on the cell block door. Everyone looked at each other and then Maggie steps forward. Sophia and Carl were both hugging Carol, crying.

"He was with Sophia in the cafeteria." Maggie says. She steps in front of her Prime, so he could see her and the door. "They heard Glenn and everyone Howling and tried to make it back to the cell block, but they got cut off. We found Sophia in a cell with some dead Walkers, hiding her scent. She said Daryl left to find me and Carl. We never saw him, but he didn't go back to Sophia. We don't know where he is."

"No." Rick whines, "NO!"

"I'm sorry." Maggie whispers, throat closing with tears. Rick pulls her into a hug and lets her cry it out. It wasn't her fault, she had to know it wasn't her fault.

When she calms down she backs away and Rick turns back to the prison. He Howls, calling for his Pack and reaching out with every bond he made. Some go further out than the prison, past the fences, faint but there. He's forced to ignore what that might mean while focusing on finding his Mate. The others answer his call, Howling right beside him. They all try to reach Daryl, and the longer they go without a reply, the more desperate they got.

Rick could feel the Theta in his head, their bond strong. He could feel the pain and fear and sadness echo through it. He Howls one more time then makes a signal to wait. He could still feel their bond, pulsing like a heartbeat, but it was getting weaker.

"No." Rick's voice breaks. The world spins.

"PAPA!" Carl. His pup still needed him, he needed to be strong for his son. But when he turns to look at the boy, Carl's attention was on the door. That's right, Carl called him dad. He'd never called him papa before. Carl was starting to cry, "PAPA!"

Carl was calling for Daryl. It broke the Alpha, almost as much as feeling the bond with his Mate go weaker, then silent. It could have meant many things; Daryl was unconscious or asleep, or too tired to reach out to him as well. But Rick could only think of one thing. He Howled once more.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

…...

Daryl heard Glenn Howling and knew something was wrong. Sophia couldn't hear it yet and was still loading up the carts with food. When Maggie and Carl started Howling though, she looked at the Theta, scared. Daryl takes her by the shoulder and guides her out of the cafeteria. "We need to get to the Pack but don't Howl; it could draw more Walkers. We can come back for the food later."

"Ok."

Daryl leads her down the tunnels towards the Howls, keeping an eye out for Walkers. When the tone and pitch of the Howl changes Daryl turns her away and they travel down another tunnel. Something had changed, and they needed to keep away now. He finds a cell that was locked with two Walkers inside and gets an idea.

"Sophia." He nudges the little Omega. They shoot the Walkers and Daryl opens the cell. They push the mattresses against the closed bars and then used the metal bunk bed to brace them. Daryl then takes the dead Walkers and shows Sophia how to cover their scent by rubbing the guts and blood on them and the walls. It was a gruesome sight, but the Walkers outside just passes them by without a hint of acknowledgement.

Another Howl echoes through the tunnels, bouncing off the walls. It was Carl's voice. Daryl whines; his pup was out there.

"Make sure you stay here." Daryl tells her, "Don't leave unless it's me or one of the Pack, alright? I don't care if the halls sound clear, you don't leave this cell at all."

"I promise Theta." Sophia lifts her crossbow and helps move the bed out of the way just enough for Daryl to get out of the cell. They move the bed back and Daryl breathes through another kick.

"Stay Sophia." Daryl hated himself. Every Lycan, every Alpha and Omega, had a Voice with a capital V. It was used to keep members of lower rank under control during stress or defiance in Traditional and Polkrato Packs. For Daryl to use it on Sophia as a young Omega, a pup, just to keep her in the cell, to stay safe so she wouldn't run and get lost like at the farm…. He felt sick. Hopefully she'd forgive him when everything was over.

He grabs his crossbow and moves, trying to find his Packmates. He's only able to get down two halls before running into trouble. Turning the corner, he stumbles back when he runs into a Walker. He falls, turning and hitting his side. He takes out his knife and kills the Walker, the blood from earlier and the dead body helps to cover his scent as more Walkers come around the corner.

Daryl would have been fine laying there if it wasn't so hard to breathe. He had done the same thing on the highway when they lost Sophia, but it hadn't been this hard. He wasn't pregnant then though. Something was wrong. He wasn't scared yet he felt like he pissed himself. When he felt the urge to shift and get back to his nest, it hit him.

"No…" He whispers in horror. No. No, he was not about to give birth surrounded by Walkers, under a corpse and covered in infected blood. He feels the baby shift and pain. Fuck, shit, yes he was, NO! He sees an open door and focuses everything on that room. No Walkers, good. He waits out another contraction and forces himself to stay quiet.

He waits until there are only a few Walkers in the hall before pushing the corpse off him, calling attention to himself. Unable to walk with the contractions being minutes apart now, he shifts and lunges for the door, slamming it shut behind him. He collapses against it and shifts back, pulling all his clothes off and using them to wipe off the blood and slick between his thighs. More replaces it almost instantly.

"Shit." He whispers. The alarms were still going off, but he could here all the Walkers in the hall, more filling in. He'd never make it back to the cell block like this. Stripped bare he shifts again, reaching out with his bond to Sophia to check on her. He pushes the feeling of safety and caution to her. The command from his Voice won't let her leave but he didn't want her thinking she was in trouble. She sends love, safety and forgiveness back to him and he breathes easier.

Another contraction hits him and he screams, the Walkers outside bang on the door in retaliation. Something was really wrong. The labor was happening to fast, he wasn't fully dilated yet, but he felt the need to push. The contractions were coming in too close together. Then he felt the baby move and screamed again, this time in fear. That didn't feel right, the baby shouldn't have moved like that. There was too much pain. The baby, oh God, his baby….

The Omega was sobbing and screaming with each wave of pain, ignoring the Walkers that were heavy enough against the door now to push it in if they weren't fighting to get to food in such a narrow doorway. He finally gives in as the alarms shut off, letting his wolf and instincts take over. Maybe they could stop his body from trying to abort the baby.

His wolf goes to the back of the room, away from the Walkers and taking the clothes with it. He pushes them into the corner and sits on them, focusing his ears on the noise around him. He pushes past the growls of the Walkers and the sound of them moving. Daryl heaves when he hears heartbeats. The sound of his Pack. One stands out and he almost purrs. Rick.

He listens until his own heartbeat calms down, then focuses on what was happening to himself. The clothes were drenched in slick and his water and his wolf starts rolling in it. The clear liquid stuck to him, but the blood ran right off; off his fur and the clothes. The wolf was making a clean bedding for him to nest with while at the same time covering everything in his scent. When the next contraction hit it was less painful; the wolf licking his opening helped ease more of the pain.

When he feels the need to push again, he does. At first, he felt like he was taking a huge shit, one you had to stop and start again to get out expect it wasn't coming out of his ass. It was coming out of an opening between his balls and anus. He lifts his tail and hind leg, so he could lick at the baby as it came out, helping it along and cleaning it. Because it wasn't an actual wolf cub it was bigger than normal, which caused it to hurt more. He could feel his Pack's fear and worry growing the more pain he felt. That had to mean he was projecting it to them, a silent plead for his Pack's help. When Rick started Howling, calling for his Pack to give him their location, Daryl could only listen as each member answered him, even Sophia; letting him know they were ok.

The Walkers had grown in numbers at his door. As his labor hadn't been the quietest and with the alarms shut off, each whine, scream, sob and growl was a beacon to draw them closer. The door was already groaning under the weight of all of them out there, and if he wanted to keep them out, he'd have to be silent from then on. He couldn't answer his Mate or his Pack. None of them knew if he was alive and they wouldn't until he answered them. But he couldn't risk his and the cub's safety though.

He cries through the rest of his labor silently, even as their Howls become more and more desperate, filled with gut wrenching fear and disbelief. They sounded like longing; like Simba in the Lion King when Mufasa died. It broke his heart when they went silent for a time, listening for him.

He stopped focusing on them when his little cub finally fell from his body, fully shifted. That wasn't something that happened often, if ever. It was a myth, a legend people told stories of from Before, when Lycans first started Mating with Sapiens. Biblical in a way. Wolf birthed children were strong beyond anything they could comprehend; world changers. Alexander the Great, Muhammad Ali, Helen of Troy, Sacagawea. Even Hitler had been said to have been a Wolf-borne. For his baby to be one as well, here in the apocalypse…. It made him wonder.

Daryl ignores all of that and cleans the little girl, 'his daughter' his heart raced. He chews on the umbilical cord, then nudges her towards one of his nipples for her to feed. The little cub was the size of a full grown human baby, or a small dog breed, though her fur reminded him of tri-color merle Australian shepherd. She was going to make a beautiful wolf. He watches her whimper and turn towards the door, making small chirps. He listens for the Walkers, wondering if another herd was going to join the one outside. No, the Walkers were leaving. He smells his pup, picking her up by her scruff and bringing her back to him. She kept making the noise though he couldn't smell anything wrong.

He breathes out a laugh when he realizes what the sound she was making was; little ass kicker was trying to bark at the Walkers. His heart melts with love for his strong pup. He grooms her and gets her to feed with only a little trouble. Then a soul shattering Howl of pain echoes down the tunnels of the prison. Rick.

Daryl hadn't responded due to the Walkers outside his door, which means they thought he was dead. He was tired from labor and couldn't reach out with his bond to let them know he was ok. He whines and the cub looks up, her head turn towards the door. She whimpers, then chirps, then tries to Howl back. She throws her head back and her body follows. She turns onto her stomach with a sneeze before curling up in Daryl's fur. She attempts to Howl again but cuts herself off with a yawn. She falls asleep listening to her mother's purrs and her father's Howl of mourning for his Mate.

Daryl lays down next to her, his eyes never leaving the door. Sobbing and staring at the only thing keeping him and his newborn cub safe from the threat outside, Daryl can't help but think, ' _I'm so sorry Rick. Please, please. I'm ok. I'm so sorry.'_


	5. What's Her Name?

Rick was still on the ground, tears in his eyes and a sobbing Carl in his arms. They had lost Daryl and the baby. Rick could only hear a ringing in his ears. When it starts getting dark he picks up his sleeping son and carries him into the cell block and into his cell. Sophia was already in there, curled up on the little Alpha's bed in wolf form. Her fur was a red and black brindle and short. She looked more like a coyote than a wolf, but still Pack. She lifts her head and moves when Rick puts Carl down, then curls up in front of him and licks at his tears with a soft whine. Carl wraps his arms around her and falls right back to sleep.

Rick smiles sadly and leaves them alone. Carl and Sophia had been through a lot and the little Omega had already approached him, asking if Carl could spend her next heat with her, an Omega's way of asking for his son's hand. He knew they didn't have much left in a selection for Mates, but Carl was happy with her, and that was all he could even ask for. Hopefully Carl never had to lose his Mate the way Rick had.

Rick goes back into the rec room/ dining room to find the rest of the Pack there, curled up at the tables. They were all mourning as well. With the silence and not having Carl to focus on anymore, all Rick could hear was the ringing. He whines and whimpers as he collapses on the ground, fresh tears in his eyes. He felt no shame in letting his Pack see his weakness, his vulnerability. He knew they would understand his grief. They come up to him, trying to help, but everything felt too much. He picks up his axe and plunges into the tunnels, ignoring their calls. He needed to hit something, to vent. When the first Walker appeared, he took it out quickly. He moves on, looking for more Walkers….and hoping he finds his Mate.

…..

Glenn was digging holes for Daryl and the baby when Oscar and Axel finds him. They talk about the perimeter for a moment, then offer their help digging. Glenn shakes his head.

"Your friend," Axel hesitates, "he was a good man."

"He was family." Glenn shoots them a look, "He was our Theta and our Luna. That cub was going to the first one we had together."

"He was your….oh." Axel says. "We didn't realize he was your Theta too."

Glenn see Hershel at the fence and hands the shovel to Axel, then picks up the second and hands it to Oscar. "Can you…?"

"Yeah man." Oscar pats his shoulder. "We got this."

Glenn goes to see the Elder. "Where's Rick?"

"Still inside the tunnels." Hershel replies.

"I'll find him, try to talk to him." Glenn sighs. "I can't believe we lost Daryl and the cub."

"All because of one asshole."

"A part of me wishes we'd killed them all on sight."

"Those two seem like good guys."

"But Daryl wasn't just a good guy. He saved all our asses a thousand times. He saved Carl at the CDC and found Sophia just as people were starting to give up hope. He's probably the only reason he got this far because he can hunt. He was just starting to heal, him and Rick, and now he's…. He was the best guy." Glenn wipes his eyes. "I'd trade any number of people for one of ours any day."

Hershel squeezes his hand through the fence and then lets Glenn go to find their Prime. Glenn doesn't really have to far to find his Alpha, he just follows the trail of dead Walkers. He finds Rick's axe on the ground, broken, then turns when he hears a growl. A wolf almost the size of the hall itself was standing there, hackle raised, and teeth clamped down on a moving Walker's severed head. He crushes it between his teeth and moves closer to Glenn, who shifts and turns onto his back with a whine, tail tucked.

Rick's wolf was large with broad shoulder and the tips of his ears brushing the ceiling, putting him at seven feet easily. He had a white under belly and a black face with a white stripe down his face and nose. The rest of him was colored like a German shepherd, which was ironic with him being a sheriff's deputy. The Prime goes over to Glenn and sniffs at his throat, standing over him and keeping him in a submissive position. Glenn lets it happen, knowing Rick wouldn't hurt him. Rick licks his neck and they both shift back to human form, the Prime helping the Asian Alpha to his feet.

"Everyone's worried about you." He tells Rick, "Carl's been wondering where you are?"

"Carl?" Rick asks, "Is he ok?"

"Just wants to see you." Glenn starts guiding Rick back towards their cell block. "I know this is your way of coping, but you still have Carl and the Pack. We need you. At least come back when it starts getting dark to eat and check in with everyone. We can't lose you too."

Rick follows the Alpha down a few hallways then stops. Next to two dead Walkers was a crossbow, Daryl's crossbow. The Prime picks it up and takes the arrows from the Walkers skulls as well, cradling them against his chest. The two Alphas make it to the cell block with Rick leaning on Glenn. He collapses onto the ground before the stairs to the perch and starts crying. The Pack take one look at him and everyone shifts, curling around him in a big puppy pile. Glenn makes sure both doors were locked before joining them.

Glenn's red and tan husky coat with the black stripe was curled up next to Maggie's white and silver one. Hershel's three-legged timber wolf was lighter than T-Dog's, but both shared the same color and pattern. Beth's fur was a white cream and mixed well with Carol's tan and Sophia's red and black coyote looking wolf. Carl couldn't shift yet, but he was curled up in the middle right next to his dad with Sophia's head in her lap.

Axel and Oscar volunteered to be on watch all night and would sleep in the morning. The others appreciated it and took the time to get some well needed rest.

….

In the morning Rick stays long enough to put Daryl's crossbow in their nest and lock up the cell. It was hard to look at, all the pillows and their clothes arranged on the bed, the thick comforters that it was getting too warm to use now hung up on the bars. The prisoners had both refused to go up there, even when the other said it was ok if they didn't go inside the nest itself.

"Daryl was wary of us." Oscar says. "He said he wouldn't be able to nest while we were there and I'm not going to disrespect his wishes like that. I'll stay in my cell."

Axel's response was almost the same. The two men had taken the first cell on the ground floor, right before Hershel's. Then it was Glenn and Maggie's. Then T-Dog's. The last three were used for storage. Upstairs was where Carl and Sophia, Beth, Carol, and Rick and Daryl's nest were. There was a total of 14 cells in C block, and six were unoccupied.

…...

Maggie and Glenn had gone on a run to see if they could find anything their Pack could use and end up finding a daycare center. They both whine but still go in; there were others that might need things later. They also wanted to get things for the baby before the herd came through, but they had been so focused on survival and then clearing the prison. They wanted to do this, even if it hurt that the stuff wouldn't be used. Maggie smashes a window open and they crawl in. Maggie start grabbing formula, bottles, diapers and clothes, placing them neatly in the bag so she could get the maximum number of materials in it.

"Maggie-"

"We didn't find a body." She sniffles, "Maybe-"

"Come here." Glenn pulls her into his arms and lets her cry. He helps put stuff in the bag, filling his own with baby books, pacifiers, more bottles, and clothes. Maggie takes the bags to the car and Glenn checks the rest of the building. He finds a few more backpacks and takes them, dumping out all the papers and leaving them empty for other things. They could always come back for more if they needed it.

Glenn finds a doll made of cotton, with a little leather vest over a plaid shirt with ripped jeans, the hair long and a dark brown. It was based off some vampire romance TV show from Before, but Glenn saw its potential. He grabs some safety scissors and a bottle of glue and cuts the hair short, just brushing the forehead. He uses his fingers to part it right and with tears in his eyes, he takes part of the hair he'd already cut and cuts it some more. When it was as short as it could get with him still able to maneuver it, he glues it to the doll's upper lip and chin. He cuts it some more and when it was perfect, he cries some more.

Maggie finds him there and when she sees the doll, the glue dried, she whines. She sits down and takes the glue, adding a dab where Daryl's mole was on his lip. When that dries too, she takes her water bottle and rehydrates some of the finger paint on the little kids table. She uses brown to paint dirt on the doll and its clothes and Glenn laughs, watching her use the white to paint Merle's wings on the back of the jacket. While she does that he uses the popsicle sticks, toothpicks and a rubber band to make Daryl's crossbow and arrows. He glues it together and paints it black and dark green, then glues it into the doll's hands.

They sit and admire the Daryl doll for a bit, before noticing it was getting dark and they needed to get back. They take the doll with them. Carl or Rick might find as much comfort in it as they did.

When they get back they notice Carol coming up from the graves with Sophia, both of them crying. Each grave had a Cherokee rose.

…

Carl was refusing to eat until Rick came out of the tunnels to eat with him. He had to make sure his dad was ok. Instead he was holding onto the Daryl doll Maggie and Glenn made, scenting it. They had left it in the nest, wrapped up in Daryl's poncho and leather winged vest, so it smelled just like him. Carl had broken down when they handed it to him, and hours later his eyes were still red.

"You ok?" His dad asks, coming up to him.

"Yeah. Glenn and Maggie made it for us." He hands the doll to Rick. The Alpha takes a shuddering breath and smells his Mate coming from the doll. Both of the other Alphas come by, scenting them for comfort and Rick thanks them in a tear-filled voice.

"Everyone has guns and knives but we're running low on ammo." Glenn tells him, "We're going to make a run to see if we can find some, or anything else we need."

"Didn't you guys just go on a run?" Rick asks. He could have sworn they said they were going yesterday.

"We did." Maggie tells him. "We found a daycare and…"

Rick nods. He understood. He eats with his son and catches up with the Pack, then sees the Alpha couple off and gives Sophia and Carl some chores to keep them busy before heading back into the tunnels.

Carol and T-Dog went with Oscar and Carl to clean out tunnels in the prison. Axel was in the generator room fixing them in case of an emergency and disconnecting the alarm system. If he can fix it, they might be able to get the lights, heaters, and AC going to help keep the cell block at a good temperature. They could light up the hallways and make it easy to get around.

They close and lock every door they come across, spray painting the different ways to the blocks.

Because they had more time and there was less Walkers to deal with all the doors closed they start labeling the arrows; which ones lead to the cafeteria, the infirmary, the boiler room, the generator room, the laundry room. They even found a bathroom and cleared it, locking all the doors until they were sure the tunnels were clear. That was a big win for them, especially if they could get a water system hooked up to get showers.

It was while they were labeling an arrow that they saw a door swinging open and closed.

"Should we kill them?"

"It's probably just one or two of them." T-Dog pushes at the door, "Don't look like they have much fight in them. We'll clear it when we come back. Let's split up; you know what to do."

T-Dog went with Oscar down one hallway with a set of keys and left Carol with Carl to go down another.

The Lambda shines the flashlight in a cell and seeing nothing, Carl locks it up. They move on and find another hallway with a door. They lock it too just as a few Walkers pass it by. Unable to get through the door though Carol and Carl keep going.

"Do you think he was in pain?" Carl whispers, "Daryl, when he died; do you think he was in pain?"

"No." Carol looks at the next cell, "I don't. He would have killed himself before he got bit and made one of us put him down. But I can't help but think he's alive. Something just tells me we'd have felt it harder if he died, ya know?"

"Then why hasn't he come back? It's been three days."

"Maybe he can't." Carol shines the light in another cell, "He's pregnant and some of these cells have like automated locks or broken ones. He could be stuck inside a room and unable to get out."

"If he is, we'll find him." Carl puffs out his chest, "We'll bring him home."

"Damn right." Carol smiles. They lock the last cell in the hallway and find a dead end. "Let's get back."

They meet back up with T-Dog and Oscar as the Alpha grabs some slippers from an empty cell.

"What are the slippers for?" Carl asks.

"Ya know, end of the day, relaxing." They three laugh at him. They hear a Walker and all four turn and shoot. They Walker goes down and T-Dog pulls a knife from the side of its throat.

"It's Daryl's knife." Carl reaches out and takes it from the Beta when it's offered to him. "Come on, the wound's fresh. He's here… somewhere."

They keep moving, every empty cell making them more frustrated. After almost two hours of finding nothing they end up right back where they started.

"He has to be here!" T-Dog hits the swinging door with the Walker stuck behind it. Its silent for a moment, while all of them pant from exhaustion. Then from behind the door they hear a sound… a chirp.

"What was that?" Carol was alert, listening for the sound again. She pushes at the door again and there was a yelp. Then a low growl; deeper than the other sounds and tired.

"Daryl?!" Carl pushes up against the door. The growls stopped. The little Alpha calls out again, "Papa?!"

A whine. The sound of something crawling. And finally, a bark. Carl threw the door open, not caring that it hit Oscar. He drops to his knees in front of Daryl's wolf and throws his arms around the Omega's neck, sobbing.

The others pile in, T-Dog and Carol hugging him too, but when Oscar gets two close Daryl growls. The Alpha shakes his head at the others when they try to explain what had happened, and leaves throwing an, "I'll be right back!" over his shoulders.

"Oh Pookie." Carol laughs through her tears, "We thought we lost you. You didn't Howl back and we…."

"We're glad you're ok man." T-Dog pets his head. When he goes to pet Daryl's side though, the Omega yelps.

Carol starts looking at the side immediately. "You have two broken ribs; did you fall?"

Daryl nods. Carol presses on, urgently, "The baby?!"

Everyone freezes, until Daryl's tail wags. He nudges Carl stomach and the little Alpha moves back some.

The little cub was curled up under Daryl's chest, between his front paws. He licks its head and it chirps and whines at the sudden grooming. Carl gasps in wonder, looking at Daryl with questioning eyes. Daryl pushes the cub towards him and the Alpha picks up his little sister as gently as if he was holding glass. He tucks her in his arms and scents her, purring and whining his happiness. Daryl licks his tears away and tries to stand.

When he falls down with a whine, Carol remembers how long Daryl had been missing. Three days. He couldn't leave, not with the cub and the halls weren't safe to take her out by himself without weapons. He would be dehydrated and starving, with barely any strength. Just as she's about to say something to T-Dog, Oscar comes back with crackers, a can of chicken broth, with a can opener, and a water bottle.

"Alright, here we go." He sets everything down and turns to Daryl, holding out a blanket. "Can you shift back?"

With a grunt of effort, Daryl does so and Carol wraps him up as soon as he does. T-Dog hands him the water and Daryl drinks greedily.

Oscar puts some of the crackers in the broth and lets them get soggy, then uses a spoon to feed them to him. "My Mate had a drug problem, when she was in her low points we couldn't get her to eat. Me and my pups would do this to try to get some nutrients in her. Did the same thing with my mom when she got so old she couldn't chew."

Carl was playing with the cub, letting her wander around. She was still a cub and only three days old, so her eyes weren't open, and so when she started heading towards the door, Carl got up to get her. Just as a Walker appeared in the door.

"NO!" Daryl screamed. He jerks up, knocking the water and the can of broth from the other's hands. T-Dog and Oscar both raise their guns while Carol helps Daryl from where he fell trying to get up. Carl was the closest though, and with his little sister under him, defenseless, he acts without thinking.

He shifts for the first time, tackling the Walker and ripping its head off with a growl. He turns and picks the cub up by her scruff, scampering back to Daryl with his tail tucked.

The Omega pulls them both into his arms while Oscar and T-Dog check the hallways for more. Finding nothing but the lone Walker's body, they turn back to the others. "We have to get back to the cell block. This is too dangerous, Walkers come through here too much."

"Daryl can't walk." Carol argues. Oscar takes off the bag on his shoulders and hands it to T-Dog. Then he turns to Daryl, "Carl can carry the cub and Carol and T-Dog can carry the supplies and keep watch for Walkers. Do you trust me?"

Daryl nods and shifts back into his wolf form; Oscar picks him up and carries him on his shoulders. Carl holds the cub by her scruff, both still shifted, while the other two get in front and behind to lead. They make it to the back entrance to block C just as Rick comes through the door into the rec room where Beth was making dinner and Hershel, Axel, and Sophia were playing a card game.

T-Dog locks the door up while everyone else goes upstairs to put Daryl and the cub in the nest. With a smile on his face that refuses to leave the Beta sprints to the other end of the cell block, throwing the door open and startling everyone on the other side. Rick pulls out his gun, before realizing it was just T-Dog.

"Guys!" He was panting, smiling, and smelling like he'd just won the lottery, "We found Daryl! He's alive!"

Rick was already on the steps, taking them three at a time, before the others cleared the door. He pushes passed Oscar and slams into the wall in front of the last cell; their nest. Carl was in human form against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and smiling with tears in his eyes. Carol was at the edge of the bed and helping Daryl drink more water. And there he was, his Mate, tired and dirty but alive.

Carol smiles at him and moves away from the bed just as Daryl sees his Alpha. He breathes a sigh of relief, "Rick."

"Oh God." Rick sobs. He moves to Daryl's side and buries his head in the Omega's neck, biting down with a whimper. Daryl hisses then purrs, returning the bite on Rick's shoulder, claiming Rick as his Alpha, Marking him as his Mate. Rick pulls back and takes his head into his hands, kissing the Omega deeply. Daryl moans into the kiss and neither stop until they have to come up for air. By then the others are in the doorway. Daryl does a head count and then turns to Rick, worried.

"Where's Glenn and Maggie?"

"On a run." Daryl nods. His side was purple, and half covered in bandages.

"He broke two ribs. I think I did the binding wrong." Carol looks at Hershel. Rick gets up and moves to sit behind his Mate, bracing him while the Elder treats him. It was when he sat up that everyone notices something missing.

"Daryl, the baby?" Hershel asks gently. Rick almost sobs again.

"She's ok." Carl steps up, "Right here, safe and sound."

Rick notices that Carl wasn't crossing his arms over his chest but holding something bundled up in his arms. "She?"

Carl moves to put his sister in his dad's arms, and when his are free he wraps them carefully around Daryl. Everyone cranes their heads to look at the little cub, and when her tiny wolf head appears, whining for food, everyone is stunned. Then Rick starts purring and grooming the little girl, handing her to Daryl to feed. Once she was in Daryl's human arms the baby shifts as well and Sophia hands him a diaper and a green onesie when she's had her fill, yawning and resting her head against her mother's shoulder. While the Theta changes her, Rick kisses Daryl's forehead.

"She looks just like you." Rick traces the dirty blonde hair on the cub's head. He knew it would get darker, just like his and Carl's had. Daryl hums with a tired smile.

"I want to go outside." He tells Rick.

"Then let's go." He helps the Omega to his feet and everyone heads out, letting Daryl get changed. They go outside as a Pack, Carl holding his little sister with Sophia and Beth making cooing sounds over his shoulders. Hershel sits at the picnic table and Carol and T-Dog talk to Oscar and Axel about changing schedules around, so everyone can get time with Daryl and the baby, now that they knew he was alive.

Rick stands next to his Mate at the fence, watching everyone. "Think of a name yet?"

"Thought we agreed to let Carl name 'em?"

"We did, but you told us about how your mom gave you and your brother names to connect you with the earth." Rick nods over to their daughter. "Any ideas for her?"

"For them." Daryl corrects. He shoots Rick a look, taking a finger and rubbing at his Bite. "You're my Mate now and Carl is your son. I know he's ok being mine too, he said it while they were looking for me; called me papa. He's my pup just as much as that little girl is, he deserves a name…. And normally this is when ya get your second name. Once you've got yer own personality and what not. But I want to be sure with them both, so it might take a while."

Rick kisses Daryl again, so happy his Mate is amazing and caring; for him to give Carl a name too, even though he wasn't Daryl's by blood….

Rick knew some people had amazing relationships with their step parents, but Rick had never known anyone with one so well they didn't call the step parent by their name or only associate them with their parent; my mom's husband, my dad's new Mate, etc.…. He didn't expect Daryl's relationship with Carl to be like that, and he was glad for it. But he also didn't think it would happen so fast.

"What's that?" Axel points at the fence. Rick looks down there and with a nod from Daryl he goes down to it. The Prime makes his way down to the gate and pulls out his gun, eyes connecting with the Alpha on the other side of the fence; not a Walker as her image and smell give off, but alive. She was covered in Walker guts and limping with a wound on her thigh. But what got to Rick was the basket of baby formula she was carrying.

And the Daryl doll Maggie and Glenn made sitting on top.


	6. Boys and Girls

Merle was sent with the team to chase Michonne and Tara, while at the same time another team was looking for Sasha. He moves stiffly and with a limp; 30 lashes to his back for three members of the Pack leaving Woodbury. It was hard to move, and each breath was fire, but he kept going. He had to find his Pack before the other Woodbury men did.

"Stupid fucking Omega." One of them growls, the Alpha, "Had she been my bitch, she'd have never made it to the foot of my bed, much less the front door."

Merle hated it, hated them for talking about the Omegas like that. The way the Alpha said 'his bed' instead of 'her/their nest' explained just how much respect he had for the female version of the Lycan gene. The Beta couldn't wait until the next part of the plan was put into action. Speaking of …

"The fuck is this shit?!" There was a message on the ground from Michonne.

"It's them, those Alphas." Tim, another Beta, points at the cut-up Walker. "The Governor was right to send us out. They're dangerous to our people."

"Go back." The last Beta shallows, "The arms are a G…. the legs an O…and that's a back. She's telling us to go back to Woodbury, to stop following them."

"Aw this is too good." Merle laughs. When they said Michonne was going to leave messages for them to leave, he didn't think this was what she had in mind. "She sent us a Biter-gram ya'll."

Then she makes a noise. Merle moves on to part two of the plan; make the others forget that Tara came out two, making it easy to get the upper hand on them. "What's the deal Michonne?! You gonna leap out the woods, one against four, all of us armed to the teeth and you with just your little pig sticker? That's not going to work Michonne."

The female Alpha drops out of the tree and slices the Alpha's head off. Walkers start coming out of the woods, five of them and Michonne gets trapped under one. She swings her sword but misses the head when one of the Woodbury men shoots her, catching her in the thigh, causing her to cut the Walker's stomach and covering her in the guts. She gets up with a limp and stabs one Beta in the stomach while Tara comes up behind the last Woodbury man and shoots him. When she goes to hug Merle he shakes his head and puts a finger to his lips, pointing at the Walkie on the guys belt. The group looking for Sasha was now alerted that the others were gone and would be looking for them.

Michonne grabs her and runs as fast as she can while limping, while Merle gets on the Walkie and gives the other group a location a little bit off from there, giving them more time to get away. Then he gives chase through the woods. He follows them all the way to the road, coming to a stop with them at his sides right near a strip mall.

"Damn you two move quick." He laughs.

"Not quick enough." Sasha comes out of hiding behind one of the trees. Tara and Michonne hug her and Merle shakes her hand. He checks Michonne's wound but they don't have supplies to bind it. He takes out a water bottle and tries to clean around it, making sure no infected blood is near the open gash.

"It just grazed me." Michonne shakes off the concern her Pack shows her. Merle sighs, knowing just how stubborn the Alpha can be.

"Alright so you three are going to get a car and head in- SHIT hide!" Merle pulls the three women with him into a building as a car approached. A red truck. Two Alphas got out, one male and one female. Even from inside the building Michonne and Tara could smell their Mating Marks. Merle almost fell to the ground when the male came into view.

"That's Glenn." He breathes, "He was part of the Atlanta group. He was with my brother."

Merle's Packmates look on with a new interest. Maybe these people would help reunite the Dixon brothers. And if they were part of Merle's old group, they might be willing to hide them from the Governor's men too.

"It's clear outside." The female says. This was Glenn's Mate. Sasha asks if she had been part of the group too.

"No, never seen her before." Merle shakes his head. "They stayed in a few different places though; maybe he picked her up somewhere along the way."

"Alright, let's take a look inside." Glenn points at the pharmacy. He takes bolt cutters and opens the door and the Alpha disappear inside.

The female shines the light in her hands in the doorway and laughs. "Glenn get the duck, kids growing up in a prison are going to want toys."

"Well I'll be damned." Merle says, "Looks like the kids made it too. That's good."

"We just hit the powdered formula jackpot." Glenn comes out laughing.

"Oh Glenn…." Maggie wipes her eyes, "But…. after what happened with…"

"We didn't find a body." Glenn whispers. The four hidden Pack members perk up at the mention of this, and Merle chokes. Who else had had a baby besides Lori? Glenn wipes the tears from Maggie's face. "When we find them, the baby is going to need help eating, he's overdue and with the stress from taking the prison he's had to have gone into labor or will soon. They'll need everything we can grab."

"Merle no!" Michonne hisses at the Beta, keeping him from going outside. Merle didn't hear her, he couldn't. The only male Omega in the group from Atlanta was Daryl. The male they were talking about, the one that was having or had already had a baby, it had to be his little brother. And he was missing or dead. Merle had to get answers, he had too.

Tara gets in front of him, "Merle calm down. You said you didn't know the female and Andrea told us she got separated from the group at the farm. What if Glenn did too? What if he's got his own Pack now, like Andrea does, and you going out there puts your kids in danger? We'll stay here and listen in, find out who these people are. They took the prison, the one the Governor lost half his men trying to take."

"What if they have Daryl?" Merle whispers, never taking his eyes off the Alpha pair that were going through the bags Glenn brought out.

"What if they don't?" Sasha replies. "What if Tara's right and Glenn's new group is dangerous? You said he was severely suppressed, how would he be able to help us?"

"Ok." Merle nods. "We'll wait and find out. If they're not, then you two won't stop me a second time."

"Fair enough." The four watch the Alphas move to load up the car. Just as they get ready to open the trunk, Woodbury men show up in trucks. It was the other search party, the one that had been looking for Sasha. Merle pushes the Omega further behind him on instinct, wanting to keep her as far away from the threat as possible.

Martinez jumps out of the trunk bed and shoots out their back window. Making the two Alphas split up. Merle curses and goes out a side door, tapping into his wolf's speed to circle the strip mall and show up on the other side just as the other Alpha was about to shoot the female, Glenn on his knees with a gun to his head. Tara, Michonne and Sasha could only look on in fear and worry.

"WELL I'LL BE DAMNED BOYS AND GIRLS! LOOKY HERE, THE CHINAMAN SURVIVED!" Merle yells, calling attention to himself. Martinez sighs and lowers the gun. Glenn's eyes widen in shock.

"Merle?" The Asian Alpha breathes. Recognition shines in the female's eyes; she had heard of him then. One of the Pack, or Glenn, had mentioned him to her.

"The hell Beta?" Martinez scowls at him, "These another part of that fucking group of yours?"

"Yep, they're from Atlanta. The male is Glenn. The female was pretty new before I lost them, so I don't really remember your name; could you remind me sweetheart?" Maggie looks at Glenn in confusion. Her Mate nods for her to answer; he had been confused too because Merle had never met Maggie before. But when the Alphas removed the gun from both of their heads, and the way the one had said another of the group, Glenn had a good idea at what game the Beta was playing. He was offering them protection by claiming them as old Pack. Merle Dixon was saving them from execution.

"Maggie Greene."

"AH! Now I remember, she had some family with her when she came to us, her father and sister." The two Alphas tensed; how did Merle know that? They relax again at his next sentence, "Andrea said their names were Hershel and Beth?"

Andrea. Andrea was alive and had told Merle about the farm, which they would have been scared about had her telling him not just saved their lives.

"You planning on bringing them back?" Martinez laughs, "I thought the last beating we gave you would have prevented that Beta; you bring in people and wasting our supplies."

"I can take another beating if need be."

"Then I guess we're going for a little ride." Maggie bites the other Alpha when he attempts to separate them into two different cars and Tyreese steps in before she was hurt. Merle hadn't even realized Alpha was there, though it did make sense. Sasha was his sister, he knew her scent better than anyone, and while the Woodbury men were using him to track her, Ty would be able to smell her and lead them in the opposite direction, allowing her to get away.

"Relax, amigo." Merle gets between Martinez and the others, gesturing towards Tyreese, Glenn and Maggie, "We'll take them. If I walk through the gates with them alone or with this big guy, then that's less of a chance of the blame falling on anyone but me, right?"

Martinez takes his rifle and hits Merle with it, sending the Beta to the ground with a cut on his forehead. Tyreese herds the two new Alphas into one of the cars while Merle picks himself up, surrounded by laughing Alphas.

Glenn's put in the passenger seat while Maggie and Ty get in the back. Merle climbs into the driver seat and starts the car but waits for the rest of the Woodbury men to get into the cars before having Ty drop a piece of red paper on the ground leaving instructions for the others. They pull away leading the rest of the caravan.

"What the hell Merle?" Ty turns to the Beta, "You and the others were supposed to be miles away by now, what happened? Is Sasha and the others ok?"

"They're fine. We were about to leave when these two showed up and we had to hide. Then the Gov's men found them." Merle kept looking back at the other cars behind him. "Michonne and Tara will get her away from that fucking place don't worry."

"What the hell was he talking about? Wounds? A beating?" Ty growls, "Dammit Luna, answer me?!"

"I'll explain later, alright?!" Merle glares at the Alpha.

"Where are you taking us?" Glenn growls, "How the hell are you here and working for these assholes? Are you going to torture us? Are you-"

"Glenn, I'm sorry, but I don't know."

"Why are you doing this?" Maggie asks, "How did you know about my family and the farm? Did Andrea tell you?"

"Yes, she did." Merle looks back at the Alpha, "Her Mate found her a few miles from your farm, and they found me and my new Pack a few days after that. Spent the whole winter together. First thing she told me was that you all had survived the CDC and that my brother was alive. That was good to hear after months of thinking ya'll were dead."

Merle got quiet. "He's gone now, ain't he? Daryl was pregnant and now they both dead, huh?"

"We don't know that." Glenn whispers. He points into the back seat, "He called you Luna?"

"As for why…" Merle uses his good hand to pull down is collar, showing them his Mating Mark. "You're not the only ones with people to protect. Woodbury's where we're going, and it's run by an Alpha named the Governor. He's a bad man and has done some bad things; killed Packs and Flocks and then taking their supplies. He got too close to my Pack and I joined to keep him away from them."

"You didn't have that Mark in Atlanta, did you?"

"Neither did you." Merle smiles. "I'll try to keep you two safe, get you out as soon as we can just like we've done with others, but if they heard you all talking about the prison like I did…"

"They'll be looking for information." Ty says, "And they're not afraid to get their hands dirty to do it."

"You mean my hands." Merle says, "I'm the one they'll send in to get the information out of you, and you're gonna be praying it is me."

"Why?" Glenn asks.

"Because if it's not me, it's the Governor." Merle's hands tighten on the wheel, "And he's been known to break even Alphas by any means necessary. He'll be able to tell you're the one that will break, Glenn, and he'll try anything and everything to make you talk. Even at the cost of your Mate."

Merle looks at Maggie, and then Glenn. "You better pray it's me."

…

Merle had been right; they sent him to integrate the two Alphas. Hours of Merle hurdling questions at Glenn, and they take his advice seriously, not saying anything. When Merle doesn't get answers though, they send in one of the other Woodbury men to Glenn and Merle gets thrown in with Maggie.

He takes off the blade and sets it on the table. He pulls her into his arms and holds her while they listen to the other man beat Glenn and demand answers. She cries into his chest and he repeats questions he'd thrown at Glenn gently, just like he said he would if someone else took a turn with one of them.

When it gets dark and curfew starts, Merle sneaks down with his Pack. They grab Maggie first and go into Glenn's cell. Bob cuts him free of the duct tape and starts treating his wounds, until Maggie pulls her Mate in for a kiss.

Merle steps in, "I'm sorry. I know you want to make sure each other are alright but if they smell that you two have been close to each other between the time the brought you in and tomorrow morning-"

"They'll know what you did." Glenn nods. They hug Andrea anyway and Merle can't fault them for it.

"We'll get you out of here soon." He tells them, "I promise."

"The others?" Andrea asks, "Michonne?"

"Your Mate's fine. But they aren't heading back to Morgan and the pups in King County. They're going to get your Prime." He looks at Glenn and Maggie, "Rick needs to know about this danger; they'd kill every Alpha, Beta, Omega and pup old enough to remember their faces for a can of peaches and a butter knife. And you didn't even know it was living in your backyard until now."


	7. A Fine Hunter

More Walkers were starting to line up on the fence had started lining up on the fence where the Alpha was holding the basket. Rick kept staring at her, growling, and Carol, T-Dog, Oscar and Axel were running down to him.

The Alpha on the other side of the fence winces and grabs her leg. The smell of fresh blood draws the Walkers to her and she draws her sword, killing all of them that come near her. The other Pack members already had gate ready to open to help her.

When the female goes down after a hard swing and doesn't get back up T-Dog throws open the gate so Rick can jump out, shifted. Oscar and Axel lay cover fire while Carol and T-Dog put the Alpha on Rick's back. Carol hops on to keep her steady, holding Rick by his scruff, while T grabs the basket and the woman's sword. Axel closes the gate behind them and locks it, the others already sprinting to the cell block.

Daryl was inside with Carl, Sophia and the baby while Beth and Hershel set up the fenced in and cleaned out weapon storage in the rec room as a med bay. They had moved a table inside and laid down a blanket with another one rolled up for her head.

Carol and T-Dog move her to the makeshift bed while Rick shifts back, checking on Daryl and the pups before grabbing a water bottle and cleaning the Walker guts off the Alpha. Hershel was looking at the wound on her leg when she comes too, stitching it up.

"Hey." Carol whispers, moving hair from the Alpha's face, keeping her voice gentle. "Hey it's ok. What's your name? Who are you?"

The Alpha reaches for the sword and Rick kicks it away, moving the woman's arms back as gentle but firm as he could. Hershel moves away, finished with the stitches. "We're not going to hurt you, unless you try something stupid first, ok?"

"Rick." Daryl calls. He comes out of the cell with the baby in his arm, Carl and Sophia behind him. The Alpha freezes, her eyes locked on the Theta. "Who the hell is this?"

Rick turns to the Alpha. "You want to tell us your name?"

"You have a cub?" She whispers.

Carol looks at her confused. "You brought a basket of baby formula to us without knowing why?"

"My Pack." The woman jerks up. "They were with me. Where are they?"

"The only one that was at the fence was you." Rick tells her.

"They were in a car, further up the road. I need them here, I ain't tellin' you shit without them."

"Howl." Daryl tells her, to the surprise of the others. Then he picks up the doll from the basket and hands it to the giggling cub in his arms. The female Alpha seems surprised at the resemblance between the Omega and the doll. "Our Packmates made this doll and had it with them this morning when they went on a run. Now you have it, and they're an hour late getting back. Howl for your Pack, now. I want answers."

The female waits a moment but when Daryl growls at her she throws her head back and Howls, calling for her Pack loud enough to be heard outside the prison walls. A car can be heard pulling up and the gate opening and closing. Then car doors, and then the car driving up to the inner yard. Oscar and Axel come in leading two females, another Alpha and an Omega. All three tenses up until T-Dog takes them and leads them into the room with their Packmate and everyone gives them room to scent each other. They watch Rick's Pack, wary, but thankful that they weren't separated.

"Well good, now that all of you are here." Daryl hands the cub to Rick who tickles the giggling baby's feet, much to the amusement of their Pack mates and the longing of the others. The look fades from their eyes when Daryl gets in their faces, red eyed. "I want answers. Where is my Pack?!"

"Hey." Rick hands the baby to Carl and pulls his Mate back. "Hey, we'll find them. With or without their help. We'll find Glenn and Maggie."

"Glenn and Maggie?" Sasha asks. "An Alpha pair; one Asian male and a female with a heavy accent?"

"You know them?!" Carol sits up. Rick places himself between Daryl and the new group, causing the Omega to pace. T-Dog takes the Omega and guides him away and Carl hands the fussy baby to its mother. Daryl takes the baby and moves away, setting the cub down on a blanket and shifting. He nudges the baby to one of his nipples and she shifts as well, whining while she eats. When the Theta sees the new group gawking at the little pup who by all standards was too young to shift, he growls and flashes his eyes at them. They look back at Rick.

The Alpha turns back to the three females, "You know our Pack mates?"

"Another one of our Pack knew them." The dark Alpha steals a glance at Daryl, "My Mate described them to us and our Luna named Glenn."

"Your Mate?" T-Dog asks.

"Andrea." Silence. Even Daryl had stopped growling, ears perked up.

"You know Andrea?!" Sophia gets closer, Carl a step behind her, "She's alive? Is she ok?"

"Last I saw her." The Alpha shakes her head. "She was taken. We were running from the group that's holding her and that's when we saw your Pack mates get nabbed. The same guys, all Alphas from a settlement just north of here called Woodbury. It's run by a guy named the Governor; they kill other groups and take their supplies. We were heading back to our home to warn our Prime when we saw Glenn and Maggie get ambushed."

"Our Luna went undercover to keep them away from their home." The Omega adds, "Me, Tara and our Pack met Andrea and Michonne on the road and they took us in. Andrea was sick, and we ran into the Luna trying to find her medicine; he took us to Woodbury for help and we had to escape over the walls. Some us our Pack is still trapped there."

"Sasha-"

"No Michonne." The Omega looks to the first female Alpha, "They can help us get our Pack out of there; your Mate, my brother, and the others. Besides if we help get their Pack out then maybe we can merge, no offence to the Prime but these guys have a better set up here. Space for cubs to grow."

"You have cubs too?" Rick asks.

Michonne nods reluctantly. "Our Prime has a son about you boy's age. And our Luna just adopted a cub, going on two months old now."

"You smell like him." Everyone stops and looks at Tara who was staring at Daryl. The Omega had shifted back and was changing the cub's diaper. He looks up confused.

"Who smells like who?" Rick asks. The bond he had felt outside the fence when calling for Daryl three days ago, pluses. No…. please please…. Let it be him, please…. For Daryl….

"Your Mate." She nods at Daryl, "He smells like our Luna, Merle."

Silence. Everyone was holding their breath. Rick sighs shakily. It was him.

Daryl whines. He lets Carol take his baby from him and Rick helps balance him while he stands up. He was near hysterical when he turns on them, "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME?!"

Rick gets in front of them and tries to calm his Mate but when nothing works he demands that they describe him. Tara scrambles to gather her thoughts, her eyes on the distressed Omega. "Blonde, thinning hair and blue eyes; square chin; broad shoulders; uh…. prosthetic on his right hand, he cut it off after he was handcuffed to a roof in-"

"Atlanta." Rick cuts her off. He turns to his Mate and purrs, trying to calm him. They collapsed to the ground and Daryl holds onto him while he cries. "Shh, shh. It's him, sweetheart. He's alive."

"When?" Daryl sees the look on their faces and sobs, "WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE MY BROTHER?!"

"Hey hey hey, it's ok!" Tara pulls off her watch and hands it to Rick, lowering herself to be on Daryl's level, chin jutted to the side to make her appear less threatening. The other two watch in shock, Michonne even smiled. They had found Daryl Dixon, their Luna's lost baby brother. "The time on the watch says 4:15 pm, right? We saw him last at 2:03 this afternoon. A little over two hours ago. Just two hours ago he was alive, with Glenn and Maggie, heading back to Woodbury."

"Two hours?" Daryl was holding the watch like it was a lifeline, with it was in a way; it was the only lead he had on his brother.

"Two hours." Michonne agrees.

Rick helps both Tara and Daryl up, seating the Omega at one of the tables with the watch. Tara sits next to him, explain everything Merle had told them to the group. Afterwards she pulls out a piece of red paper from her pocket and hands it to the Omega. Merle had been ambidextrous, though his right hand was stronger, but Daryl immediately recognized his hand writing.

"He told us to come here." Sasha tells them, "Said his brother was here and that the Prime, Rick, was a good guy and might be willing to give us shelter?"

Everyone looks at Rick, who seemed insulted they'd asked. "Of course, you can stay here! You're Pack; I've scented both Andrea and Merle before. But I can't set you guys up in the cell block until Merle or your Prime is here. I won't split a Pack, I can't do that to them."

"Our Prime is in King County." Michonne says, "Let us go, and we'll bring them here."

"You act like you're a prisoner." Daryl huffs through his tears. "We'll get the gate on your way out."

"What about our weapons?" Sasha looks at Oscar who was holding the sword and guns they brought in with them. Daryl takes them and hands them back.

"The doors are locked for a reason. Not all the hallways are cleared of Walkers, so to go anywhere in here without a weapon is a death wish." He hands them their weapons plus three knives, to their surprise, "Firing a gun is dangerous though because of the noise. Try to keep the kills as silent as you can and never bring Walkers back to the cell block. Try to lose them in the tunnels or hide there until they move on. Plenty of open doors."

Rick whines and hugs Daryl to his chest, scenting his hair. The three women seem to have a silent conversation with their eyes, then Sasha nods.

"Sasha will stay here." Michonne tells them. "Think of it like insurance; she stays, and you can guarantee we'll come back. If she thinks it safe enough then we'll bring the rest of our Pack here. If not we come get her, return to Woodbury for our Pack, and we'll bring Glenn and Maggie back here, then leave for King County. We'll leave a map, so you and your brother can stay in contact. Deal?"

Rick looks at Daryl. The Theta bites his lip but nods; it was the best they could offer. Oscar and T-Dog help Michonne and Tara bring all their stuff in from the car. Sasha organizes it in the weapons storage area while the two Alphas prepare to leave. They get to the gate and Daryl knocks on the window, Rick right behind him.

"You said Merle had a cub?"

"Yeah." Michonne looks at them. "We found Lori as she was going into labor. She had twins and one got stuck in the birth canal. It didn't make it and neither did Lori. We saved one of the babies; a boy. Merle named him Reedus."

Daryl nods and scents Rick when he smells the guilt and acceptance coming from his Mate. Rick leans in after Daryl heads over to unlock the gate. "And his Mate? The one with a son?"

"Morgan." Michonne raises an eyebrow at the Alpha's shocked expression. "His son is an Omega named Duane. You know him?"

"He's the one that saved me at the beginning." Rick tells them, "I was in a coma when all of this went down, I didn't know about the Walkers when I woke up; they saved me that first day. Tell him Rick Grimes says, 'you're all welcomed at the prison at any time' and that he sends his regards."

They nod and drive away, disappearing behind the trees surrounding the prison.

…

Sasha was checking the fence perimeter while Sophia tells her everything they had been through during the winter. The Omega can see the others walking around, cleaning and clearing the yard of Walker bodies. They were throwing them into a fire that they had dug out a spot for and laid up with stones to keep it contained out in the yard. She knew that Daryl was watching her from where he was sitting with Hershel and his baby, but she didn't feel eyes on her like every single person there was watching her every move.

They had given her complete access to the cell block, even let her move everything out of their storage cell to go through… had even offered to help her! The only place she wasn't allowed in, was Daryl's nest but even then, she could stand outside the door if she wanted to.

T-Dog said if she wanted to see the tunnels to let Rick know and they would find someone to escort her. The tunnels weren't safe, and she couldn't go alone, but they'd be willing to show her if she wanted. She told them she'd wait for her Pack, so they could all go together.

Unlike Woodbury, the Omegas that were there were seen, constantly. So were the Betas and Alphas and pups. All of them were working and doing things together. Betas, Omegas and Alphas were on the fences killing Walkers that were attracted by the fire. The pups were helping move bodies. Sophia was killing Walkers through the fence while they walked and even showed her how to do it, giving her a pipe to use. Hershel was on crutches with only one leg and he was helping by cutting and breaking wood to feed the fire. But all of them were playing and goofing off too. All except Daryl.

Sophia had told her about the prisoners that they killed and about the herd that was let loose. She knew about Daryl getting lost and going into labor by himself, and then not being able to leave for three days because of dehydration and the cub. She knew that the whole Pack had thought he died after it happened and had been mourning when Glenn and Maggie had gone on the run. The two Alphas still didn't know he was found.

He was on 'bed rest' by the whole Pack, and anytime he tried to help, they growled and pointed at his seat next to the Elder. Finally, he gave up, just watching his cub and keeping Hershel company. He cleaned his crossbow and skinned animals that Rick had gone out and come back with just for him to have something to do. The Theta had given him a kiss of appreciation and then shooed the Alpha away to do more work, which had everyone laughing, even Daryl. They acted like a family, like a Pack, and Sasha knew that she would be telling her own Pack that they would stay at the prison.

When the car comes up the road everyone heads down to meet them, Sasha in front. Daryl and Hershel watch from their seats. Michonne is the first one out of the car and she looks to Sasha. When the Omega smiles, and nods Tara gets out of the car as well. Duane jumps out of the back seat and runs up to Rick when the Prime comes forward to welcome the Alphas back. He throws his arms around the man's waist with a purr and Morgan laughs, getting out of the back with a fussy baby.

Daryl appears by Rick's side with their daughter and Hershel, staring at all the new people. Duane looks at him and tears up, going over to him and hugging him. Everyone watches the Theta look at him in surprise. He hugs the boy back and hands the baby to Carol. Duane whines, "You smell like my papa. You must be uncle Awi."

Daryl clears his throat, "And you must be Duane. That your dad?"

"Morgan Jones." The Alpha holds out a hand for the Omega to shake, then gives Rick a hug. "It's good to see you again Rick."

Daryl brings over their baby to meet Reedus, and the cousins take each other in with easy consideration before giggling at each other. Duane and Carl hit it off too and are talking about comic books with Sophia and Beth and trying to explain the difference between Marvel and DC. Everyone heads back inside while Tara parks the car with the others.

"Have you named her yet?" Morgan asks, looking at the babies that were laying next to each other on a blanket in the cell block.

Daryl shakes his head. "How did Merle name him? It seems like a big thing; they're going to be carrying it around for the rest of their lives. How do you just pick one?"

"Names are a gift Daryl." Morgan smiles, "Our parents give them to us just as we give them to our children, hoping that they'll like them. We pick them at a time when they can't do so for themselves. And like gifts…they don't always fit; they can be denied or exchanged. If the name means something, to you and your family, I doubt she'll reject it."

"Thanks." Daryl hums, smiling softly. An ease falls over him. They watch as the little girl rolls onto her belly and shifts, earning a surprised hum from Morgan. She crawls her way over to Reedus, using her little twitching nose to find him. She lays her head on his stomach with a wagging tail and both babies fall asleep. Duane, Carl and Sophia come over with comic books to watch the cubs while Morgan and Daryl go to the others to discuss how they were getting into Woodbury.

Morgan laughs, looking back at the pups, "She'll be a fine hunter when she gets older. Just like her papa and uncle."

"Yeah." Daryl smiles, "A fine hunter indeed."

….

"I got the flash bangs and the tear gas." Daryl says opening the trunk to one of the cars.

"Nope." Rick takes the bag from him, "You're going to go eat while we pack."

"What?" Daryl narrows his eyes at his Mate.

"You gave birth three days ago and was locked in a closet until this morning. The only thing you have eaten are a few soggy crackers. Eat. You're still going Darlin'; it's your brother and our Pack. I'd lose a limb trying to stop you, I know that, but I'm not losing you because you're stubborn. I'm not doing that to our children." Rick purrs at his Mate. "Eat; we'll let you know when it's time to go."

Daryl grumbles but does so. Oscar gives him a pat on the back as he goes over to Rick with more supplies. Carl and Duane come out to stand by him with the baby and Reedus. The Theta looks at them and sees the sad looks on their faces. "Hey, don't worry about your dad. I'll look out for him. You think of a name yet?"

"I still get to name her?!" Carl was excited again.

"That's what we agreed on right?" Daryl opens a can of pineapple chunks and eats them with his fingers. Duane giggles. "What?"

"Papa does the same thing." Merle. Duane looks down at the baby when it starts fussing. Daryl hands the can to the Omega and takes the little boy, cooing at it to get to quiet down. The boys take turns eating pieces of pineapple while Daryl soothes his nephew. He trades the baby for the can of pineapples when Reedus falls asleep. The two pups had eaten a third of the can.

"I had a teacher, Mrs. Mueller. She helped me learn how to enjoy reading when I was little by giving me her son's old comic books." Carl tells Daryl. "I was having trouble in school, not at the same reading level as the other kids. Dad and Lori were always fighting back then, and dad spent a lot of time at work. When he found out about me struggling in school and the comics, he started coming home and reading them with me."

"You want to name her after the teacher that saved your and your dad's relationship with comic books." Daryl smiles, "What was her name?"

"Judith." Carl shakes his head, "I don't think it's really meaningful though."

"How about as her middle name?" Duane suggests. Carl smiles and Daryl nods his approval.

"Well I've got an idea for her first name then." Rick comes up to them with a smile. "I heard the comment Morgan made about her being a hunter."

"Yeah!" Carl exclaims, "Hunter Judith…. Uh…"

"Grimes." Daryl grunts with a glance at Rick. "Hunter Judith Grimes."

Rick purrs and pulls him into a kiss. "Did you eat?"

"Yes Dad." Daryl holds out the now empty can. Rick looks at Carl and Duane.

"He ate most of it." Carl giggles.

"Traitor." Daryl mumbles. Everyone else chuckles.

Carol comes outside with Beth and Hershel. The Lambda waits for Rick to pull away before hugging Daryl. "Stay safe, ok Pookie?"

"Damn woman ain't ever gonna let me live it down." They laugh, "Nine lives remember?"

"Your down to seven. Be safe." Carol smacks his butt as she walks over to where Michonne and Tara were getting the second car together.

"Damnit woman!" Carol laughs.

"Bring them back." Hershel tells Rick. The Prime nods and scents both Packmates, doing the same to the five pups when Sophia joins Carl and Duane.

Morgan would stay here with the rest of the Omegas, pups, Tara, Axel, T-Dog and Hershel.

Rick was taking Michonne, Oscar, and Daryl with him.

They were bringing their Pack home; tonight.


	8. I'm Sorry

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Andrea was screaming at Merle while Bob stitched the open lashes back together. Tyreese had told the others what had happened while they were coming back with Glenn and Maggie, and now the Beta had twenty new open wounds on his back, shoulders, sides and chest. The skin was all shades of bruising, from a blackish purple to a sickly yellow. Maggie was helping Bob clean the Beta up while Andrea shouted abuse at him for taking the beatings and not telling them about it.

"And what would you have done?!" Merle snaps back. He was sitting backwards on a chair with his arms resting on the back of it to keep them out of the way while they fixed his wounds. "Yelled at him? Told the town? They all know where I came from, hell half of them lived in the same county as me. They know my daddy beat me and Daryl and any wounds they find on me are just going to go straight to that. Throw the name Dixon out there and watch every single one of them give you the stink eye and nose crinkle, like you were a cat that brought them a dead, half eaten mouse."

"You should have told us." Tyreese says, "We're your Pack, you should have at least trusted Andrea and Michonne enough to tell them."

"I do trust them. I trust you all too." Merle sighs then winces. Glenn comes forward and hands him a bottle of water, using another to clean a cut on his shoulder. "But if I had told you, what would you have done?"

"I didn't need you to take my beating Merle." Glenn tells him gently, "I was crap to you, at the Quarry and back at the strip mall. I could have taken mine and Maggie's, but I don't deserve you taking them."

"None of that now boy." Merle huffs, "At the Quarry you would have tucked tail and shown your belly to Sophia if she told you that she didn't like what color band aids you found. I wasn't expecting anything out of you there, especially with Shane as the Prime. And at the strip mall you and your Mate were attacked and held at gunpoint. You found out I was working for them and acted just like I knew you would; with suspicion and wariness. Besides, I knew what they would do to ya. You don't owe me nothing."

"I owe you everything; we'd be dead if you hadn't shown up and our Pack wouldn't know what was going on if you hadn't sent the others to them." Glenn shakes his head, "We'll have to agree to disagree."

Merle hums. Andrea kneels in front of him and takes his face in her hands, squeezing his cheeks, "You piss me off Dixon. We could have at least fixed some of the wounds, so you wouldn't have four of them infected."

"Five." Bob whines. He takes a bottle of rubbing alcohol and hands Merle a belt to bite down on. Glenn holds out his hand and when the Beta refuses to take it, the Alpha rumbles until he does with a huff and an eye roll. Bob pours it on the wound and Merle tenses, screaming around the leather. Andrea shoves his face into her scent gland with the Bite, so Merle can smell his Pack with him.

Maggie cleans the puss out of the wound and wipes away the blood with a whimper. The way some of the Pack had talked about Merle back at the farm made him seem like redneck trash; Shane, Lori, Dale…. even Andrea.

Daryl refused to talk about him and she understood why; he was family and he was gone. None of them talked about the people they lost in the beginning of the apocalypse, and they barely talk about the ones the lost during it.

But to see this Beta grit his teeth while they cleaned his wounds, wounds he'd gotten simply from trying to protect them…. It made her want to smack everyone that had ever said a bad thing about him. But when she looks at Andrea, who was holding this Beta's head and fighting the tears in her eyes while she tried to soothe him, the Alpha figures she was suffering enough as it is. They get him cleaned up and cut away some of the infection as much as they can.

"Shit." Merle coughs the belt out of his mouth and they let him take a minute, just watching as his body shakes. Bob takes this time to take care of Glenn's wounds, but both Alphas keep an eye on Merle.

"Why did they do it?" Tyreese asks. "Is this place like Traditional or something?"

"The place is run Traditional only in name." Merle grunts, "Don't worry, I've dealt with these kinds my whole life."

"They're Polkrato, aren't they?" Glenn whispers, "We have to get all of you out of here."

Bob looks up, confused. "Pol- What?"

"Polkrato?!" Andrea gasps, "Oh god, no wonder we didn't see any other Omegas. This place is like a fucking Alpha enthusiast camp. Omegas aren't allowed outside beds except to be used by whatever Alpha decides to fuck them that night. Betas are laborers; that's why they have no problem beating Merle and putting him out on runs the same day. Holy fuck…. I'm so glad Sasha isn't here anymore, the things they would have done to her if she'd stay today."

"What do you mean?" Merle asks.

"They sent Alphas into all the homes today." Bob whispers, "I saw three girls get taken out of their beds and sent to the Governor; they got new jobs and then thanked the fucker. One went scavenging and never came back; another's on the wall. Didn't see the last girl after that but I saw her mom crying until one of the soldiers told her that her daughter was working for one of the lieutenants and they might get Mated cause she 'loved him'. Said she wouldn't see her for a while though because her new Alpha was Traditional."

"The one on the scavenger party was an Alpha, she probably spoke out against the Governor or one of the soldiers had it out for her, but female Alphas don't go over the wall. They killed her; hunted and shot if she was lucky. A new Beta on the wall and another Omega was taken to be a Breeder." Merle mumbles into his arm. "Definitely Polkrato."

"Can't we do something?!" Maggie looked close to tears. Glenn hugs her.

"The Governor could have all of us killed." Merle sighs, "We can't do anything but wait."

"How do you know so much about this kind of Pack?" Tyreese rumbles. Glenn flinches and glares at the Alpha. He knew the man was thinking of his sister, who was an Omega, but if he said anything to Merle….

"I grew up in one." Merle looks down, shoulders hunched like he was expecting a hit, "They're racist, sexist, homophobic, and backwards, and I grew up with it all. When my brother presented as an Omega I had to beg my father to put away his rifle by telling him Daryl would be worth more as a Breeder. I did that to save him, but I've never felt so dirty; not even with some of the things I did overseas, and I took him and ran first chance I got."

"Hey." Tyreese lowers himself in front of Merle and looks at him in the eyes, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…. I didn't mean to-"

"It's ok." Merle shrugs, "You have family you want to keep safe. You'd do anything for Sasha, just like I would for Daryl. I get it…. No hard feelings."

"Come on." Bob sighs, "We have to get you guys back in the chairs and we have to get back before they start checking homes with curfew."

They leave Glenn and Maggie in their separate cells after wiping them down with Suppressants. It would wear off before they got any more visitors, but it would also erase the foreign smells on them.

…

It was early night when the Governor's men checked on the prisoners and saw that they had been tended too and aided with Suppressants. The Governor finds out while using the new Breeder and he snaps, killing the young girl. They put clothes on her and taking her down to the cells. Martinez goes into Glenn's cell while the Governor watches with the girl's Walker on a pole.

"Find Merle." He tells one of the other Alphas, "Let's see how he'll talk himself out of this one."

Martinez was beating Glenn without saying anything, and Glenn takes every punch in silence. He would be strong for his Pack…. He'd be strong for Merle who had suffered in his stead. After an hour both Alphas were exhausted, and they send in another to keep going while Martinez recovered. Glenn could hear Maggie crying in the next room but couldn't smell anyone else in there with her, meaning she could hear him and that's what was making her cry.

After the third guy had to be changed out Glenn could barely keep himself awake. Then he smells someone else. This one smelt all kinds of wrong; like Walkers and a full bottle of cologne, catnip and rain. Crazy with power. Glenn figured this could only be one person; the one Merle had warned them about….

"Well I'll be damned." The Governor grins. "You sure do know how to take a hit. I could use a guy like you working for me. But I think this whole thing's lost any chance of that happening huh?"

"Fuck you." Glenn spits at him with a growl.

The Governor hums and moves his foot away from the spit. "You're not going to cooperate, are you? Where's the rest of your people?"

Glenn stays silent. The Governor nods, "Have it your way."

Martinez comes in with the Walker and the Governor steps into the doorway, leaving Glenn as the only thing in its sight. The Prime of Woodbury turns to Glenn, "Maybe your Mate can be persuaded to talk. I got interrupted earlier with this sweet girl and got a little emotional; then killed her. I still need to work some stuff off. If she doesn't talk when we're done, well…...you know what they say. It will be hungry again in an hour."

Martinez lets the Walker go and slams the door shut, cutting off Glenn's scream of rage and fear. The Governor smirks and tells the Alphas to go, he could deal with them. When he goes into the room with the female Alpha he notices that despite the tears in her eyes she was glaring at him. In his mind that made her more attractive. She was wearing a tank top, showing off her Bite.

The Governor walks over to her and cuts her loose, then sits in the chair across from her. "This was all just a big misunderstanding. We'll take you back to your people and explain that to them, just tell us where you are, and we'll drive you there."

"Do you think I'm deaf?" Maggie jabs her thumb into the direction of the wall separating her and Glenn. "A misunderstanding doesn't explain why you just spent the last four hours beating my Mate. I want to talk to Glenn."

"I can't allow that." The Governor smiles, "Your people are dangerous."

Maggie refuses to say anything else to him.

The Governor smiles, "Then let's try something else."

He shifts and jumps over the table, knocking Maggie to the ground. She shifts as well and goes after his throat. Another Alpha comes into the room with a syringe and Maggie freaks. She didn't know what they had in the needle and she didn't want to find out. When she goes to Howl, the Alpha in human form clasps her muzzle shut and the Governor pushes her below him. The Alpha jabs the needle in and then leaves.

The liquid inside the needle made her feel sick, her muscles relaxed, and she shifted back to human form. When she attempted to shift again she couldn't, the drug was in her system. The Governor shifts back as well and sighs, then pulls off her shirt and bra. He leaves scratches down her back and licks them. Maggie was crying, but she refused to say anything. Glenn had dealt with the Walker they threw at him, but she couldn't tell if he'd been bit. She would protect her Pack, even if this fucking Prime Alpha wannabe raped her day in and day out.

The Governor pulls her pants and underwear off, ripping both of her undergarments to useless shreds. He positions himself over her, his lower half already bared, and put the remains of her underwear in her mouth. "My name is Philip…. Just in case you start to enjoy it."

His first thrust is met with a muffled scream.

…..

Glenn uses a chair leg as a weapon when Martinez comes to get him.

"Uh uh." The Alpha smirks, holding out his gun and pointing it at Glenn's head. "Drop it, or I shoot both your Mate and Merle."

Glenn drops the chair leg and lets himself be removed from the room and forced to him knees beside Merle. The Beta's face was beaten almost as bad as Glenn's and he seemed to be having trouble seeing clearly. A concussion. That's when the other door opens, and the Governor drags Maggie out, topless and jeans unbuttoned. She was limping badly and sobbing. While Glenn lets out a scream of pain at the sight of his Mate, Merle was assisting the damage. She had a hickey where her Bite was, a deliberate move on the Governor's part, and more on her arms, stomach and chest. A few scratches on her back too, plus the limping, all point to the Governor…. Merle's stomach turns. He would never be forgiven for bring them here. Glenn would kill him; Rick…. Morgan might never let him see their pups again…. Daryl….

"We're through with games." The Governor says. He points a gun at Maggie's head, "Now one of you is going to give up your camp."

When that doesn't get a reaction out of anyone he turns it on Glenn. Maggie sobs, "The prison!"

Her Pack can see her regret at the words as soon as they leave her mouth, but the Governor lowered the gun just like she hoped. The Governor looks at her, "The one near Nunez? That place is overrun."

"We took it." Glenn takes over.

"How many are you?"

"Ten." He says. "Maybe nine. The inside wasn't clear, and we lost one of our people in the herd. We don't know if they're alive."

"Ten people cleared that whole prison of Biters?" The Governor pressed the gun closer to Glenn's head.

"It's just the cell block and the yards." Maggie gasps. The Governor hums, then takes Maggie and pushes her to Glenn. The two Alphas hold each other while Maggie cries, and Merle's dragged to his feet. He looks back when Glenn whines and sees the Alpha bare his neck to him. He almost sags in relief when Maggie looks over her shoulder and does the same; they don't blame him, they're not angry with him. He does the same as he's pulled around the corner, the last thing he sees is Glenn giving his Mate his shirt to cover herself with.

…..

Rick and his Pack decide to wait for dark before approaching Woodbury, and take that time to go over how they were going to get in.

"They have patrols." Michonne tells them, grabbing supplies from the trunk, "We're better off on foot."

"How far?" Rick looks at the sky, then closes the trunk. "Night's coming soon."

"A mile, maybe two." The four-start walking and run into some Walkers. Rick leads in killing them and Michonne falls into the formation easily. When they start getting overwhelmed they take off, finding a cabin and hiding inside. Daryl drops his bag and shifts as soon as he's in the door, taking out the one Walker inside. They find a dog inside, dying, and Rick puts it out of its misery.

"Oscar check the back. Michonne get the door."

"Rick wait." Daryl comes out, in human form, with two smaller dogs in his arms. The big one had pups that had died already. They put knives through their heads as well. They didn't know if animals could shift and they weren't willing to find out.

"Back's clear." Oscar tells them. Rick and Daryl throw the dead dogs out front to distract the Walkers. Daryl grabs his bag and they take off out the back, circling around to the point where they had run into the Walkers. They keep going until they reach the Woodbury fence, well into the night. They follow Michonne while she sneaks close to the ground by a train, peaking at the back gate from behind a car. There was three Alphas on the gate, one with a spot light they were using to sees Walkers. They wait a few more minutes before Michonne taps Rick on the shoulder, catching everyone's attention.

"I'm going to check and see if there's another way in. Stay here, I'll be back." They nod, and the Alpha female disappears into the trees.

"We need to downsize." Rick tells the other two. He hands them both Suppressants and tells them to apply it.

"What about Michonne?" Oscar asks.

"They already know she's an Alpha. If she gets caught the Suppressants will be useless. This way we have the element of surprise." Rick answers.

"Ain't no way we're getting in the gate." Daryl grunts, checking his crossbow over. "Not with all them guards there."

Michonne comes back and leads them to one of the side walls. They get over with almost no effort and no one the wiser. They go through the back door of one of the food storages, checking the floor for anything alive that might draw attention to them.

Daryl checks the window, then looks at Michonne, "I thought you said there was a curfew?"

"Streets are packed in the day, those are stragglers." She tells them. "If they're still on the street in about ten minutes we're gonna start seeing guards escorting them."

There was a knock on the door and they have just enough time to hide before a Beta male walks through the door. "I know you're in here. Come out, you know you're not supposed to be here. Where are you?"

Rick slams him into a wall and points his gun at him, "Shut up and get on your knees."

Daryl kicks his leg and the man crumbles, Oscar moving forward to zip tie him. Rick flashes red eyes at the Beta, "Where are our people? Your Prime took some of our people, now, where are they? Where is my Pack?!"

"I don't know!" The man repeats. Daryl hits the man with his crossbow, knocking him out. They move on; Michonne going to check the Governor's apartment with one walkie while the others go to get Andrea and the rest of Morgan's Pack with the other.

When they get to the building and outside the room, Rick just knocks on the door. A male Alpha opens it and the three pushes past him and close the door. Rick has him on his knees and was about to demand answers when Andrea comes around the corner with another Alpha male.

"Rick?" She hugs him tearfully. "Oh, thank God."

"You know this guy?" The Alpha on the floor rumbles.

"This is Rick, he's Glenn and Maggie's Prime." She turns to Rick, "This is Tyreese and Bob."

"Sasha's brother?" They put the weapons down and Oscar helps the Alpha up. "Sorry. We've already run into one of the Woodbury men and had to take care of it."

"Is he…" Bob asks.

"He ain't dead." Daryl huffs, "Just unconscious. He'll be fine in a few hours-OOPH!" Andrea buries her head in Daryl's chest.

"I'm sorry." She sobs, "I'm so sorry, Daryl. I was terrible to you and Merle and you have every right to hate me or hit me but I'm sorry. I'm so glad you're ok and alive."

"Alive?" Rick asks.

"Glenn and Maggie were still on their run when I was found." Daryl explains. He hugs Andrea back, silently forgiving her. "They don't know I'm back yet."

"That means if they told Merle…"

"All three of them think I'm dead." The Theta whispers.

Rick pulls out his walkie, "Michonne we've got the others, we're just on the lookout for Glenn and Maggie now."

"Mich?" Andrea sniffles. "We know where they are; we'll take them."

"Got it. I'll find Merle." Her voice comes through the radio, "I'll see you soon Andy."

"Told you not to call me that." Andrea smiles.

"I'm your Mate." Michonne responds. "I'll call you what I want Andy."

"Fine Micky."

"Don't call me that." Andrea laughs.

Tyreese leads them out of the building, and Daryl stops right next to his Mate. "If you even think about it…"

"Course not Darlin'." Rick earns himself a smack to the back of his head. He smiles and follows his Mate.

…

They get to the holding cells and find Martinez over Glenn and Maggie with a gun to their heads. They put bags over their heads and start leading them out of the cell. Daryl doesn't think twice before throwing a flash bang, followed by one of Rick's smoke grenades. The Omega moves forward to where Maggie and Glenn were on the ground, coughing.

He pulls the bags off their heads and smiles at their shocked looks, "I like the doll. COME ON!"

They get back together with the group and make a break for the door, just as the other guys come to their senses and start shooting. They get out on the street, Oscar and Rick carrying Glenn while the others made sure they weren't being followed. They all get into a building and Bob turns to Glenn.

"How badly are you hurt?" Rick gets down to Glenn's level where the Alpha fell and checks him over.

"Some bruised ribs and whatever you can see." He coughs, "Maggie needs it more. She won't be able to walk soon."

"What?" Bob asks looking at her. Daryl frowns, reaching out to touch her shoulder. When she flinches and lowers her eyes, the Theta snarls, pulling her into his arms and letting her cry a little. He sees the others looking at him and mouths, 'Raped.'

Rick starts shifting into his half form, ready to tear the mother fucker apart for hurting his Pack. Glenn whines and he calms down a little. The smaller Alpha was in tears too, "I'm sorry Alpha. After they… they…. The Governor, he…."

"Shhh…." Rick pulls Glenn into his glands, calming him. Glenn continues, "After the Governor…. He pointed a gun at my head and…. I'm sorry Alpha."

"Hey shhh, what's wrong?" Rick purrs at his Pack, concerned.

"We told them about the prison." Maggie whispers, "I'm so sorry Rick, we put everyone in danger but he turned the gun on Glenn and I…. I'm so sorry."

"Stop it." Rick tells her, "You both just went through something traumatic; he threatened your Mate. If that had been me and he pointed a gun at Daryl-"

"He'd have drove them right to the gate himself." Daryl coos at the sobbing Alpha in his arms, "No one is mad, you're not in trouble. Either of you. Your safe, that's all we can ask for right now."

"You're ok." Maggie hugs the Theta, "We thought you were dead. Oh god, the baby?! I can't feel your bump."

Glenn whines loudly and Rick shushes him, "She's ok. It's a girl; we named her Hunter."

"Rick." Andrea whispers from the window, "We have to go."

"Merle?" Daryl asks the two Alphas, "Have you seen my brother? We sent someone looking for him but haven't heard anything."

"He was alive about a half hour ago." Glenn groans getting up. "I'm sorry Daryl; they found out he was helping us. I don't know where he is."

"I have to find him." Daryl looks at Rick with fearful eyes, "He's my brother. I ain't leaving him."

"I know." Rick pulls him off to the side while Andrea looks at Maggie, "But they're hurt, and we haven't heard from Michonne. I need you; with us. Are you with me?"

"Yeah." Daryl swallows, "I'm with you."

Rick kisses him, deeply, while Andrea calls Michonne on the walkie. "Mich, we have Glenn and Maggie. Have you found Merle yet?"

"Not yet." Came the reply. Andrea bite her lip and look at the Prime couple, finding all of them looking at her. She shares a look with Ty and Bob and gets a nod from them, then looks at Maggie and Glenn.

"Be careful when you find him…. He's hurt." Andrea closes her eyes, so she can't meet Daryl's piercing gaze.

"Hurt?" Her Mate asks.

"The Governor…. He's been beating Merle. Whipping him." She takes a deep breath, "He's got about 30 lashes on his back, shoulders and abdomen. We found out about it today when they brought in Glenn and Maggie. They gave him ten for treating me with medicine cause I'm a Beta; ten each when you, Sasha and Tara left. I don't know what they did when they found out he was helping Glenn and Maggie."

She could hear Daryl crying quietly and Rick's rumbles that promised death. She takes a deep breath and gives her the last piece of information, "The Governor knows about the prison. He raped Maggie and then threatened Glenn. He knows where we're going when we leave."

"Leave it to me." Michonne's voice was ice and sent a chill through everyone, "Get out and I'll meet you on the road in less than an hour."

…

Michonne gets to the Governor's apartment and starts looking for anything that could bring Woodbury down. After she got off the walkie with Andrea the Alpha was seeing red. How dare this fuckwad hurt her Pack; her Luna. She'd make him pay.

The only room she hadn't gone through before was the closet. When she kicks the door in she finds fish tanks with Walker heads inside. A banging from the small door off to the side shows a child with a bag over its head. Michonne almost puts the sword down so she can comfort the poor child before she remembers that Tara's sister had told them about the Walker daughter the Governor kept. She pulls the bag off the girl's head and finds Penny. She turns it around and raises her sword, hearing a gun click behind her.

She finds the Governor there with a hand gun pointed at her head. She puts the Walker between them. The Governor whines, putting his gun away and raising his hands. "Don't hurt her. There's no need for her to suffer. Please, don't hurt my little girl."

"Like you hurt Merle?" Michonne growls, "Or Glenn? Maggie?!" She drives her sword through the Walker's head then pushes it at the Alpha. He screams and goes to attack only to fall to the ground with his dead daughter's body. Michonne picks him up and throws him into the fish tanks, shattering them.

The Governor gets back up and gets on top of her, choking her. She grabs a shard of glass and stabs him in the eye. He lets go with a scream and covers it. Getting up Michonne finds her sword next to a bowl of mashed up meat and a spoon. The fucker had been feeding the Walker. She grabs both the sword and the spoon and gets on top of the Governor, panting.

Taking the spoon, she attacks the eye she stabbed, scooping it out of the socket as the Alpha below her screams in pain, trying to fight her off. "That was for Merle."

She cuts off one of his fingers and an ear, "For Glenn."

She stands up and aims her katana at the Alpha's pants, "For Maggie."

The Governor screams even louder when she does this one and she picks up all the parts she cut off and sticks them in a bag. She could hear the guns and smoke grenades going off and Rick yelling over the radio for them to get down and get to cover. When she hears Rick and Daryl arguing over the Omega staying behind to provide them cover, she gets on.

"Rick!" She waits for a response, "I'm heading your way now, ten minutes top. I'll cover for him."

She leaves the Governor on the floor, unworried if he died. Her Pack would be gone before he turned, why should she care if the bastard ate everyone here?


	9. Stay Together

The Governor has everyone gather in the Walker circle once the smoke clears. His hand and half his face were bandaged, and the ones were his dick used to be made him walk funny. Merle was standing next to Martinez, trying to act like he wasn't hurt in front of the crowd. Everyone stops talking.

"What can I say?" The Governor starts, "There hasn't been a night like this since the walls were completed. And I thought we were past it- past the days when we all sat, huddled and scared in front of the TV during the early days of the outbreak. The fear we all felt then, we felt it again tonight. I've failed you, as your Governor and your Prime."

They crowd starts to mumble amongst themselves. The Alpha speaks louder, "I failed to keep you safe. Hell, look at me. Had it not been for my sweet, caring Mate…. I would not be standing before you now."

Lizzy goes over and kisses his face not covered in bandages, before taking a seat next to a woman that was crying. "I should tell you that we'll be okay…. that we're safe. That tomorrow we'll bury our dead and endure…. But I can't, because I'm afraid…. Afraid of terrorist that want what we have! THAT WANT TO DESTROY US! And worse…."

He grabs Merle and throws him into the center of the ring, the Beta falling to his knees and then kick onto his side. "Because one of those terrorists….is one of our own… MERLE… the man I counted on, the man I trusted. I guess my father was right…. Never have a Beta do an Alpha's job."

The Governor spits on Merle's chest while Martinez holds him at gunpoint. "HE LEAD THEM HERE! And he let them in. It was you! You lied to us, deceived us! BETRAYED US ALL!"

Two Alphas come forward with a man with a bag over his head and hold him up for the Governor. The Alpha waits until Merle gets to his feet before pulling the bag off. "This is one of the terrorists! MERLE'S OWN BETA BROTHER!"

The Governor pushes Daryl forward and turns to the crowd, "WHAT DO WE DO WITH THEM, HUH?!"

The two brothers ignore everything around them, ignore the crowd that called for their blood, and just stared at each other. Merle was staring at his Bite and the flat stomach, remembering Glenn saying Daryl was overdue. Either Daryl had given birth recently or he'd lost the baby. The Omega was swaying on his feet and had a cut on his forehead. They could still hear the crowd, and with every chant Daryl's breathing was getting more labored. It was sending him into a panic, everyone yelling out to kill him and his brother, the one that was only here because of him.

"You wanted your brother." The Governor smiles at Merle, circling the two men. "Now you got him. I asked you where your loyalties lie Merle, and you said here, with your Pack. The people that saved you. Now you prove it…. Fight! To the death!"

Daryl sends his brother a look and the Beta returns it. They knew where Merle's loyalties lied…. And it sure as fuck wasn't Woodbury. When they refuse to fight, Martinez and some of the other Alphas bring out Walkers and hook them up in the circle, extending the leads until Daryl and Merle were on top of each other to keep out of reach. These Walkers weren't like the others…. They had teeth. The Alphas would push the Walkers closer and the two brothers would fight back, pushing and punching the dead in a dangerous game of keep away.

Lizzy was yelling for the Governor to stop, to let the two brothers go or shoot them and be done with it if he had to kill them. She didn't want to see them be torn apart and eaten. When she's ignored and pushed back by the crowd, she starts gathering all the pups and teens that were crying and hiding their eyes, covering their ears.

"Patrick! Grab Mika!" She points at a little girl that was kneeling close to the front, sobbing and hugging her legs. She would wail anytime a Walker or one of the Alphas holding them got too close, but when she tried to crawl through the crowd's legs to get out she was blocked. A lanky looking, barely presented, Alpha with a curly short afro and glasses, pushes his way towards her, being shoved and hit the whole time. When he had the little girl in his arms he flashes red eyes at a Beta until they move, grabbing another girl that was too close to a Walker and dragging both of them to Lizzy. She takes all the people and pups that didn't want to watch the Dixon boys die and tries to leave.

Rick steps out in front of her with a gun pointing at her face and she pushes Patrick and the kids behind her. Glenn and Maggie were shooting Walkers at his sides, taking out the Alphas holding them too. Everyone ducks into the bleachers, screaming in terror. Lizzy's eyes widen when she takes in the smell of Rick; the dark fury that he was forcing down. She could smell Merle's brother on him, sharply, and knew that this Alpha was here for his Mate. The Governor, her Philip, had sentenced the Beta to death and now death had come for them.

The Alphas barely look at her and the pups, focused on getting to the two brothers in the middle. The female Alpha stays behind, helping her get the pups out of the way of the gunfire. Lizzy could smell her Mate on the woman, but she could also see the bruises, the blacken skin she was hiding under her own Mate's shirt. She knew the woman was raped and the smell meant that it had been by someone she thought she could love, but if Philip had done this, if her Mate had raped this Alpha and beaten her Mate; taken their Pack and now was trying to kill them….

He was a monster, and more than enough crazy. She remembers finding him on the floor of their apartment, covered in blood and holding the dead Walker of his daughter, crying and sobbing.

"WHERE'S THE GOVERNOR?!" Rick roars. The man stood taller than Merle remembered, more confident. The stubble beard the man was growing made him look wild, his curls still wavy and pressed close to his head but longer. The Alpha no longer wore the police uniform Merle met him in and the normal clothes made him look bigger almost. Glenn and Maggie had never told him who Daryl had Mated, but the look on his brother's face and the identical smell on his glands made it clear who had tamed his little cautious Awiequa.

Merle almost laughs, his brother had chosen well. When Rick doesn't get a response, he rumbles loud enough to send all of Woodbury to their knees, necks turned in submission. Merle almost gave in to the sound as well and that made him worried. He knew Rick was a good guy, a good Alpha. He could smell it in Atlanta and could still smell it here and now, but the power behind the noise, the easy way he commanded the room… it made him worry.

Glenn throws a smoke grenade and Daryl grabs him, dragging him towards his Prime. The smoke gives them coverage from the Woodbury Alphas that start shooting at them and they make their way through the panicking crowd that escapes into the streets. He turns to see if they were being followed and finds no one behind him, just smoke. The Governor had disappeared.

…..

They get to the cars and the rest of the Pack by morning. Michonne and Andrea embrace Merle with tears in their eyes and Ty and Bob pat him on the back with small smiles. Rick was watching to see if they were followed and Daryl was hunched over breathing heavy. Once he catches his breath he laughs, standing up and looking at his brother.

"You son of a bitch!" Merle doesn't see the punch coming so he fell to the ground, Daryl standing over him panting. "Why the hell were you with that asshole?!"

"You ain't the only one with a family to protect!" Merle gets up and yells back.

Daryl shifts and goes for his brother's throat with a snarl, trying to force him to submit. Merle shifts as well and pushes back. Rick stops the others from getting between the brothers. He knows this was Daryl's way of letting out his frustration, the pain he'd been feeling since finding his brother's hand in Atlanta. He needed to let this out; they both did.

Merle gave as good as he got, swinging Daryl like a ragdoll by his neck into a tree. Daryl responded by swiping at his amputation and leaving three bleeding scratches on the stump. The others watch as the fight comes to an end with both brothers in human form, panting and bleeding. Daryl was kneeling over Merle's stomach, panting through the tears gathering in his eyes. He whines out a sob after he catches his breath.

"WE WENT BACK FOR YOU!" He screams in Merle's face. He pulls his brother up by his shirt collar, "DO YOU KNOW HOW I FELT, FINDING YOUR HAND ON THAT ROOF, COVERED IN BLOOD?! You left me… at the time I didn't trust the group, not as an Omega with Shane being the Prime…. You left me there…. with...w-with… FOR SOME FUCKING SUPPRESSANT!"

Merle sits up fully and pulls Daryl into his arms, holding Daryl to his scent glands. The Omega stiffens, then melts into his brother's chest with a sob. Merle sniffles and clears his throat, his voice wavering, "How do you think I felt when I got back to the Quarry and found you gone? Or when I found the CDC and couldn't smell if you made it out? How do you think I felt, Awi?"

They sit there for a long time, Rick and the others giving the brother's their much-needed space. When they pull themselves off the ground and wipe the last of the tears from their eyes, Daryl goes to check on Glenn's and Maggie's injuries, trying to distract himself. When the Theta notices someone missing he turns to his Mate, "Where's Oscar?"

"He went down when we were getting out." Glenn tells him. "Maggie stopped him from turning."

"Shit!" Daryl growls, kicking the tire on their car. He breathes deeply out of his nose and pops his neck to relieve some of the tension in his body.

"We need to get out of here before the Governor starts sending out his men." Merle says. "I have to find my Mate and the rest of our Pack."

"They're already at the prison." Michonne hums, "We dropped them off before we came out here."

"Reedus is adorable by the way." Rick grins.

"Reedus?" Glenn asks.

"My cub." Merle crosses his arms over his chest. "How is he?"

"He misses you." Andrea bites her lip.

"Morgan had him distracted with Hunter when we left." Michonne smiles.

"Hunter?" Maggie asks. Daryl seems to remember that Glenn and Maggie had yet to see his cub, and he didn't know if they knew the baby had survived. They were already in Woodbury when he had been found.

"Our daughter." Daryl jerks his thumb in Rick direction. "Gave birth to her and hid when the sirens went off."

Merle jerks, "A daughter?"

"Yeah." Rick hums, his chest puffing slightly in pride as he smiles at Daryl. The Omega snorts and hits his chest cause him to deflate with an 'oof.'

"A wolf-borne." Michonne rumbles. "A strong pup. She was growling at the Walkers at the fence when we went outside. She likes to curl up in wolf form with Reedus when she sleeps. I think they'll be close."

Merle whistles, impressed, and Daryl rumbles with his own puffed up chest. His cub was strong and so beautiful, like her sire and brother. He couldn't help the pride at the thought of her. Soon his brother would meet his niece, and hopefully they would stay at the prison. Daryl hated the thought of what would happen if they decided to leave; he couldn't choose between his Mate and their pups… and his brother. No, they had to stay together. All of them.

…..

The group comes back and finds Carol and Sasha at the gate. Once the car is inside the fence the Lambda pulls Maggie and Glenn into a tight hug and checks their wounds. When she finishes examining them she waits until Sasha moves away from Merle before throwing her arms around the Beta.

Merle stiffens in shock; he remembers Carol as a weak, suppressed Omegan Breeder that cowered in her Alpha's shadow. The only time he ever saw the woman with a backbone was when Ed had turned his attention to Sophia on the rare chances he remembered the pup existed.

The muscles that squeezed him were not from that Omega. The calluses on her hands from the rifle over her shoulder told of how far this woman had come already. The embrace she gave Daryl, one he returned, told just who had a hand in building this Omega up from the dirt she had once kneeled in. Merle was so proud of his baby brother, and as he watched how he interacted with his Pack, the feeling only grew stronger.

"He's come a long way from Atlanta." Rick falls into step with the Beta. Merle was surprised that the Prime was letting the others lead them to the cell block; usually the Alphas wanted to be the one leading their Pack. Merle would have to remember that unlike the Alphas Merle had grown up around, Rick was New-School. Perhaps this was typical for them.

"Yeah he has." Merle narrows his eyes and rumbles, "He's Mated and has a cub now."

"He was the one who made the first move." Rick tilts his head in a shrug. Merle saw the submission position for what it was though and hums his acknowledgement. Rick smiles, "I thought I wasn't good enough for him. He didn't have a good past with Alphas and was still wary of them. Carl presented, and it sent him, Carol and Sophia into heat. He invited me to Chase him and at first I was nervous but…. I love him. I'm not sure I'm in love with him, but I know I do love him. And I'll love him long after he stops loving me."

"What the hell makes you think he'll stop loving you?!" Merle hisses at Rick.

"I'm a broken and sorry excuse of an Alpha." Rick shrugs as if he had just said he sucked at Algebra; like it was a fact that he didn't see any point in trying to fix. "I was just lucky he was looking at me as a potential Heat partner. Now I'm carrying his Bite and we have a cub together…. Carl's pheromones are also starting to take on Daryl's scent, as if Daryl had been his mother…."

Rick couldn't stop the purr that rose from his chest, though he tried to suppress it. It would do him no good to act like a fucking Alpha in front of his Mate's brother. Especially since Rick never got Merle's blessing for his Courtship of Daryl.

The Beta watches Rick choke on his purr with worry. That was something Alpha's did without thought, purr when thinking of their Mates and their pups. The fact that Rick was forcing himself not to concern the Beta. That was a learned behavior; Rick had to have been taught to recognize the signs of his Alpha instincts and trained himself to not indulge in them. Who would have had the power over him to do such a thing? Knowing that Rick might not tell him Merle decides to ask some of the others. Instead he asks the other question he had.

"Why don't you lead?" He nods up to where Carol and Daryl were leading the group inside, talking low with their heads together. Glenn and Maggie were ahead of them too, re-introducing themselves to Sasha, Tyreese and Bob. Michonne and Andrea drove the car up to the other vehicles and were waiting for them at the door.

"My brother, Jeffery…" Rick sniffs, "He wanted to work at the local zoo that was close to our home, back in Kentucky. He was a born Alpha and a Beta by choice, and he got really into the wolves and the history of the Lycans; the evolution of Alphas and Omegas. He did a lot of research on wolf packs and the dynamics and tried to figure out what parts are still present in Packs today. He told me that in actual wolf packs, the old and sick lead the pack to set the speed, insuring they don't get left behind. Then the pack splits the younger, stronger members into two groups, with the pups and pregnant wolves in between them. The last wolf in the line is the leader, the Alpha. He ensures that no one gets left behind and that they're able to run in any direction to protect the pack as a whole."

"That's why you're in the back?" Merle smiles.

"I'm the Prime." Rick shrugs as the group gets to the door. "Something about the way the wolves do it made since, I guess."

"I didn't know you had a brother." Merle hums.

"We haven't spoken since before Carl was born. Him and Lori had a falling out over his Mate. He was in Spain on his anniversary when all this…." Rick swallows.

"I'm sorry." Merle lays his hand on Rick's shoulder.

"He's my baby brother." Rick sniffs, "I should have been there for him and I wasn't. I'm glad Daryl had you at least."

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" Daryl roars, his crossbow pointed at something inside the cell block. Rick was gone before Merle could blink, gun drawn, up the stairs and by his Mate's side in seconds. The group moves into the cell block and finds two Alphas sitting at the table eating oatmeal next to a dead body covered by a sheet. Morgan was in wolf form and in front of the gate leading into the cells, door locked.

Rick draws himself up and clicks the safety off his gun, growling a warning at the two outsiders. The others follow him in, but Sasha and Carol don't raise their guns. They must have already known they were in here.

"Merle." Morgan rumbles after shifting back. The Beta makes his way over to the Alpha, his gun still pointed at the two men. He pulls his Mate into a one arm hug and lets the man dig his nose in the Beta's Bite. Morgan takes a shuddering breath against Merle's neck, taking in his scent.

Hershel and Beth come to the gate and Carl unlocks the door. They make their way over to Glenn and Maggie, hugging them and urging them into the cell block so the Elder can fix them up. Carl runs over to his dad with a yell of glee.

"Carl." Rick pulls his son into his arms and scents him. When the Alpha pulls back and sees the elder Dixon he throws his arms around him as well.

"Merle." The young Alpha purrs.

"The hell you hugging on me for kid?" The Beta lowers his gun and holsters it before wrapping one arm around the Carl with a side glance at Rick and his brother. The others put their weapons away, except Michonne, who has her katana at the ready.

"You being here and alive isn't reason enough?" Carl murmurs into the Beta's stomach. Merle's swallows around the lump in his throat and squeezes the boy's shoulder.

"What? I don't get a hug?" Carl swirls around and grins.

"Papa!" He hugs Daryl and lets the Omega scent his hair with a comforting purr. Merle smiles and jumps when another set of arms snakes around his waist. When he hears the soft whimpers and sees the tears on the boy's face, his heart breaks and he pulls Duane up onto his hip. The small Omega wraps his arms around Merle's neck and sobs, scenting his Papa. Merle turns into Morgan's arms and just breathes in their scent.

"I'm here." Merle presses a kiss to the boy's temple, "I here, son."

Duane cries harder and Morgan rest his forehead against Merle's, his fingers grazing one of the still healing lashes on the Beta's side. "We will speak later. Don't think I don't know what happened."

"Who are you two?" Andrea asks the two new Alphas.

"I'm Alan." The older one steps forward, holding out his hand to Rick, "This is my son Ben. Morgan said you were the Prime here and that we had to wait for you."

Rick looks at the other Alpha, and Morgan tilts his head to the side in a nod. A sign that they would Merge Packs and stay at the prison. Rick looks back at them and takes a deep, unnoticeable, breath; as he had done with each member in the Packs, both his and Morgan's. He wanted to know a little about the people in front of him, before they continued.

Alan was grieving, both were, and Ben kept looking at the covered body. A family member that had passed within the last few days; a Mate and mother. While Ben was heartbroken and worried, his father was also angry and hungry. He had already cut his eyes to where Daryl was holding Carl behind him, away from the two-unknown people. Alan didn't know Daryl, and the look he'd shot over there was vengeful and hatred, like he'd been wronged.

Carl had found them then and guessing by the lack of weapons on the two men, the pup had been the one to put down their third member. She'd been bit and changing going by the two red areas on the sheet; one on the arm and one on the head. Carl had taken care of a threat to the Pack's safety and now the woman's Mate was out for blood. Carl was old enough, he's presented; he could be Challenged. Not only that but Alan wanted something from them. The way he looks around the cell block while waiting for Rick to speak tells the Alpha that he wants a place to settle down; he doesn't want to be outside and running anymore. And while Rick had no problem with that, the looks he and his son sent to the locked cell block and then to the other Pack members, like they're sizing them up, made it very apparent how far they'd be willing to go to ensure they didn't have to run anymore. Not on Rick's watch.

"Morgan." Rick turns to the other Alpha, "Take the others inside. I'm sure Merle wants to see the cubs and the others need to get some rest."

Everyone starts filing into the cell block except Daryl. He stands next to his Mate with his crossbow loaded and over his shoulder. Rick turns to Alan. "How did you get in?"

"There was a hole in the wall in the front of the building. The fence was down and we just traveled the tunnels for a while. Then that Fledgling found us and brought us here, locked us in and shot Donna, my Mate, when she passed. We've been waiting for you to show up to let us know whether or not we're allowed to stay."

"The hell you call him?" Daryl growls. "That's my pup you're talkin' 'bout, better watch yer mouth."

"Back off Omega." Ben growls, "Dad's talking to your Alpha. Go take care of the pups or something. Surly you have something better to do than-" SHULUNK!

Ben's body drops to the floor with an arrow through his eye and Daryl walks over to the cell block, his crossbow empty. He already knew where this whole thing was going, he trusted his Mate to take care of the other one. He wants to see his son and his daughter. Alan's scream is followed by Rick's growl and the sound of bone snapping. Then a gunshot. The Theta purrs as Rick comes up behind him smelling like gunpowder.

The Prime looks at his Pack; Carl sitting on the stairs with Sophia's wolf form between his feet; Glenn and Maggie standing next to Hershel, Beth, and Axel; Morgan holding a sleeping Reedus while Duane stays in Merle's arms; T-Dog standing with Sasha, Ty, Bob, Michonne and Andrea for introductions; and Carol coming out of the Nest with a cooing Hunter in her arms.

The little noises coming from his cousin wakes Reedus from his slumber, who immediately starts grumbling about being in Morgan's arms. Merle puts Duane down and the Omega goes to sit with Carl and Sophia. Chuckling, the Beta looks at his cub, "What's all that fussing for, huh? Don't ya like your dad?"

Reedus freezes, eyes wide while staring at Merle. Then the screeching starts, and the little boy shifts for the first time, yapping, whining, and squirming until Merle takes him in his arms. The little cub's tail wags so fast it blurs, and tear fall from the little pup's eyes as he breathes in his papa's scent. Merle just holds his son and attempts to chuff at him, hoping to calm him down.

Reedus looks like a tri-color Aussie, just like Hunter. He had Merle's blue wolf eyes and his fur was white, black and brown. He was the cutest thing Daryl had ever seen, right up there with his own cub. Speaking of….

Rick watches his Mate take their pup from Carol and cradle her in his arms, rubbing his nose against her's, making her giggle.

He knew he'd kill for his family. And he knew he would have to, as well.

To kept them safe, so that there would be more moments like this to steal his breath away….

They were going to war.


	10. This Means War

The Pack burns the three bodies in the morning after breakfast. They had gotten Morgan's Pack set up in their cells and were planning on Merging Pack after they had at least reinforced the fences. While Rick tended to the flames to keep them as low as possible, Glenn was with Carl mapping out where he had found Alan, Donna and Ben.

"You found them here? In the generator room?" Glenn looks at the chalk map he'd drawn in confusion. "But we secured this."

"Alan said they came through a door here." Carl points at one of the walls of the room. They hadn't gone down that hallway yet.

"Means there's another breach." Glenn groans. He runs his hands through his hair and down his face.

"The whole front of the prison is unsecured. If Walkers can just walk right on in, then the Woodbury people definitely can. We need to figure out what we're going to do. Me and Carl will go down to into the tunnels and find the breach as soon as I check with your dads ok?" Carl nods and Glenn turns to Merle.

"We can get you and Duane on watch if you want. Nothing too physically demanding; wouldn't want anyone coming after me for it." Glenn's commit was directed at Morgan even though he was looking at Hershel as he says it. "Tara's on the gate with Bob and T-Dog's in the tower with Sasha and Ty, showing them the ropes. Let us know if you want to join them on rotation and whether you want day shift or night."

"He needs rest for now." Hershel hobbles over to Glenn on his crutches. "Why doesn't Morgan show him the tunnels; it's a good idea that he gets an idea of the secured areas we've already cleared out. They might even want a shower to clean up a bit."

Glenn blushes a deep red and the pups look at him in confusion. Duane is the first one to understand and he's quick to whisper in Sophia's and Carl's ears. Soon all three are giggling and heading into Carl's and Sophia's cell with the two sleeping cubs. Beth follows with a blush of her own, a quick assurance that she'd keep an eye on the younger kids, and then it was just the adults.

Morgan takes the supplies from Hershel and heads into the tunnels with Merle. They get to the showers and lock the door behind them, not needing Walkers or Pack members interrupting them. Merle pulls off his shirt and sits on one of the benches next to the changing area, letting his Mate sit behind him and pull off the bandages. The Alpha growls when he sees the injuries on the Beta but continues to work in silence until he comes across the scratches from Daryl on the stump.

"These aren't the same as the others." he hums, "Where did you get these?"

"Daryl wasn't too happy that I went undercover." Merle chuckles.

Morgan rolls his eyes with an exasperated smile, "You Dixon boys; rather fight it out than talk it out. Shit like that wouldn't happen if you were a Jones."

"What?" Merle turns to look at the Alpha, confused, "What did you say?"

"Jones's don't have to resort to drawing blood to get their points across." Morgan stares at his Mate.

Merle sits there silently, worrying his lip and trying not to cry. "I'm not a Jones. I'm a Dixon."

"Then maybe you wouldn't be a Dixon anymore. You're my Mate." Morgan finishes re- bandaging Merle's back and then turns the Beta to him gently.

Merle lets his tears fall while he throws his head back and laughs. The man sags in relief and smiles at the Alpha. "Such a Dixon thing to do; proposing while cleaning the blood off me. All we need now is Uncle Dennis throwing empty beer cans at the dog because it ate his opossum jerky."

"That a yes?"

"Why?" Merle asks. "I never asked why you claimed me before. Now you want me to marry you; so why?"

"Duane is learning new languages and a new culture just to get closer to you." Morgan holds Merle's chin up, not letting the Beta look away. "Reedus is already changing his very DNA to make him OURS. The way you care for us, even when you didn't know us… Why wouldn't I? Will you marry me, yes or no?"

Merle hums, then leans closer, taking his Alpha's lips with a low purr. He pulls back and whispers against his lips, "You act like there was another option for me. Merle Jones; I like the sound of that…. fiancé."

Morgan growls and kisses Merle's lips, pulling the man closer to him. Merle settles into his lap and wraps his arms around Morgan's neck while the Alpha holds the Beta's waist. They stay like that, kissing and laughing through their teeth, just breathing each other in. Merle pulls back and rubs his fingers over the Bite on Morgan's shoulder. "It's starting to fade."

"Then maybe you should renew it." Morgan groans, laying his head on the man's chest.

"You'd let me?" Merle asks, "I know Alphas bite to claim and reclaim their Mates but letting an Omega or Beta bite them back is unheard of; even just once. You'd let me do it again?"

"That's an old fashion way of thinking. An Alpha not letting their Mate bite them because they feel like it will lower their dominance status or ability to take more than one partner is fucking stupid. I never thought I'd re-Mate or remarry after Jenny…. But I want you. You giving me your Bite tells everyone that you want me too."

"Well I think we skipped a very important part of our Mating last time we Marked each other." Merle helps Morgan remove his shirt and then bites down on his Mating Bite. Morgan rumbles when he feels the Beta's teeth in his skin, drawing blood. The rumble turns into a growl when Merle grinds his cock into his Alpha's with purpose.

Morgan stands up and lays his Mate on the bench they were sitting on, mindful of his injuries. He keeps his neck still so Merle's teeth stay in place and starts working on their belts. Once they were off Merle tries to shift, wanting to Chase his Mate. Morgan holds him fast, biting into his own Mark. Merle moans and squirms, panting as Morgan rumbles against him.

Merle lets go and pushes off the bench, falling to the ground and landing on his paws. Morgan shifts as well and gives chase as Merle runs around the room as well as he can on three legs, ducking under the benches and making sharp turns to throw the Alpha off. This works for some time until Merle gets too close to the door and something bangs against it.

Morgan grabs Merle by his scruff and pulls him back into a corner of the room away from the noise. Keeping his eyes on the door the Beta allows himself to be dragged away. And when Morgan lets go Merle reacts too slow and the Alpha pins him to the ground, biting into the Mark on his shoulder, and mounting him.

The Alpha holds onto Merle by his Bite and with his paws locked on the Beta's legs. He rubs himself against Merle's opening and rumbles in question. When Merle moves his tail out of the way, consenting and submitting, Morgan gets down and licks at the Beta's opening. Merle snaps at the Alpha's jaw with a whine and Morgan huffs before rubbing his side up against Merle's, then against the Beta's ass, making sure his Mate smelled like him. Merle whines and lays on the ground, letting himself be groomed and prepared. When his opening is deemed loose enough to not tear, Morgan nips his ear and steps back. Getting up, Merle licks under Morgan's chin and rubs his fur up against the Alpha's chest. Presenting for his Mate, Merle moves his tail to the side once again. Morgan licks the opening a few times and then mounts the Beta again.

Morgan bites down on the Mark and enters Merle with a few gentle thrust. They growl at every move the other makes and pant at the physical demand of mating.

Morgan shifts his weight to get more leverage and Merle howls. Biting harder, Morgan aims for the same spot, bringing Merle closer with each intense thrust of pleasure. When it gets to be too much, Merle whines and comes untouched. Feeling his Mate clench around him, Morgan pushes his cock in as far as he can while biting Merle's scruff to keep him flush against him. The Beta squirms when he feels the Alpha's knot pushing inside and tying them together, and growls under his breath when he feels the man's cum emptying into him. The nip on his ear say the growl didn't go unnoticed.

The feeling of shifting while tied together was a weird one, but Merle just leans back against Morgan's chest and tries not to clench down too often. Morgan cleans the Mark and hums in pleasure each time he feels Merle move around him.

"That was…." Merle purrs, "Think you'll be up for another round?"

Morgan laughs, teasing Merle's ear with his teeth. "Didn't know Beta's could go into heat. Or are you just ridiculously horny?"

"Maybe I just like the feel of my fiancé inside me."

"Damn it Merle." Morgan growls and releases another load. Merle laughs and tenses, clenches on the knot, when he hears a Howl. He shares a glance with Morgan and will's the Alpha's knot to go down as quickly as possible. Morgan slips a finger down to work into Merle's hole, trying to open it enough to slip his knot out.

Rick was in trouble.

…..

Glenn watches the Beta follows Morgan into the tunnels, more than likely going to renew their bond. He was going to go into the tunnels with Carl, having gotten Rick's and Daryl's permission. They pass Glenn and Maggie's cell and the older Alpha has Carl leave for a minute.

"Maggie?" Glenn approaches the female Alpha slowly. She jumps and hugs herself closer to the wall. Glenn whines and shifts, laying his wolf head on her lap. She was crying, letting her tears fall onto his fur as she pets his neck. Glenn rumbles in question.

"I can't… I…. He…" Glenn gets on the bed, pushing Maggie to lay down. He lays on top of her, shielding her from view, and just lets her cry into his fur, licking away her tears.

"Shift please." Maggie whispers. Glenn does as she asks, and she pulls his human face into her neck. She holds him, scenting his neck deeply. Glenn sits up on his knees and pulls his Mate closer to him. He rubs at his glands and waits for the oil to come out, then rubs it on Maggie's glands. As she starts to calm down he rubs the oils into her arms and chest, then her shoulders and back. They leave her shirt on to give her more comfort. He massages the oils into her skin deeply, working out the kinks in her joints and making her smell heavily of him.

The action may smell obsessive and overbearing, like he was claiming her even from herself, like she was his possession, but to her the action screamed love. Glenn was making sure that she could smell him over everything else, even her own scent and the Walkers outside. She would smell him over her own Pack…. And more importantly, she would smell her Mate over the Alpha that had violated her.

The amount of oils and pheromones Glenn was massaging into her skin covered the smell of the Governor almost completely. She felt safe, finally, in the arms of her Mate and covered in HIS scent. When Glenn started rubbing the oils into her feet and calves, she laughs. He doesn't try to touch her openings or the surrounding areas, knowing without her saying anything that at that moment it would be too much even through her clothing. He makes sure the whole cell stank of his; that his oils and pheromones seeped into the bed and pillows so that even if he left the room, she could still wrap herself up in his smell and be ok.

"Do you need anything else?" He breathes into her ear. She shakes her head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What do you want me to say?" Maggie sniffles. "He raped me, over and over again…. He wanted to know where the prison was…. Said he'd take your hand...if …"

Glenn nuzzles her under her chin and holds out his left hand, taking it into his right. He guides her to touch each of his fingers as he counts them, "One... two... three... four... five."

Then he switches to his right hand. "One… Count with me…. Two…"

"Three…." She runs her fingers over each of his own, "Four…. Five."

"See?" Glenn smiles gently, "All there. Shall we count the toes too?"

"Shut up." Maggie leans back into him, "Thank you. For everything."

"I'm your Mate, Mags." Glenn purrs when she lays her head under his chin. "I'll always be here for you. Always. If you need me or need to talk about what he did to you, you can always come to me. You'd have to kill me yourself to make me leave you."

They sit there in silence until they hear the Howl. They're both up and out the door, halfway to through the court yard before it stops echoing through the cell block. ….

Carol and Axel were outside, building up the defense of the gates when the first shot ran out. Rick was outside the fence tending the last of the embers and waiting for Daryl to come back from his hunt. Hershel was down in the yard, giving the Prime cover from any Walkers that might try to sneak up on Rick. Carol and Axel were talking about his time in the prison while they watched the two men down by the fence.

"Don't you miss your brother?" The Lambda asks.

"Hell no." Axel laughs, "Guy had a real money problem."

"How so?"

"He never lent me any." The two of them crack up, "One time he-"

Axel's blood painted Carol's faces red, and she goes down with the body, using it as a shield as more bullets miss around her. Both Rick and Hershel hit the ground, hiding in the tall grass. Rick sees a yellow truck; smells Alphas and Woodbury and throws his head back in a Howl of anger and warning. Michonne had been on the front gate with the others, and every last one of them take aim at the shooters in the woods.

The Governor stayed next to his truck, aiming for the door as more of Rick's Pack slips outside, Glenn and Maggie both hiding under the file cabinets and metal tables and shooting at the yellow truck. Somehow one of the Woodbury men had gotten up into the tower closest to the prison and was shooting at Axel's corpse, trying to get Carol. Carl and Beth were against the wall and shooting at the man, trying to lay down enough cover for the Lambda to make a run for it.

Sophia comes out and kneels at Carl's feet with her bow trained on the shooters head. She focuses on her breathing, blocking out all other noise just like Daryl had taught her too. Taking aim, she ignores the bullet that plants itself into the ground next to her knee; she ignores her mother's cry of alarm when sees it get close to her; she ignores the sound of Carl growling his worry at her. All her attention was on the motherfucker who was shooting at her Packmates.

A pink camo bolt and trigger-happy finger later, Carol was beside them with a machine gun shooting at the men outside the fence, the one in the tower hanging limp over the rail.

Everyone was so focused on the men shooting that they didn't notice the moving van coming until it was too late. It rips the gates off their hinges and opens the yard up to the outside world. Walkers start flooding in from all the noise the guns were making. Rick Howls again, noticing that Hershel was still in the yard; the yard that was now open to the dead. The one driving drops the tailgate and releases a herd of Walkers right there in the middle of the yard. The driver makes a run for it, dressed completely in riot gear for protection.

Andrea comes out from behind him and yanks his head back, stabbing up into his brain. She makes a run for the gate, along with everyone else that had been in the towers and on the fences. She yanks the door open just as the truck goes flying out into the yard, Merle and Morgan making their way to Hershel and shooting all the Walkers that got to close. Michonne was already in front of the Elder, cutting down Walkers that got too close. They pull up beside them and Merle takes over shooting the Walkers while Michonne got Hershel and his crutches inside the truck. Once they were in, Merle turns towards the last place they saw their Prime, "RICK!"

When the Walkers outside the fence start making their way inside, the Governor's men leave. Rick was still trying to get in and was surrounded without bullets. Just when he was getting desperate enough to shift and kill these fuckers with his claws and teeth, an arrow goes through the eye of one of the Walkers he was holding back. Daryl drops the deer he'd hunted and slices the stomach open, attracting more of the Walkers away from his Mate. Rick hears Merle call for him and Howls again, signaling for the Pack to regroup. Since the other were already inside the inner courtyard, Morgan drives the truck towards the prison.

Rick looks at Daryl and shifts. He leaps across the river and lowers himself, so the Theta could hop onto his back then the Alpha takes a running start and leaps, clearing the top of the two barb wire fences in one bound. Rick yelps when the wire cuts the underside of his belly and sends him falling to the ground. Daryl rolls to avoid injury and when Rick gets to his feet, the Alpha grabs him by his shirt and takes off towards the inner yard. Standing on four legs Rick's wolf was almost two feet taller that Daryl's human form, and he could easily lift Daryl's feet off the ground. Running was a bit more difficult, but he clears the yard without running into any Walkers and when the gate closes behind him, he tucks his Mate and Carl under him. Both of them shift and allow themselves to be groomed. When Rick's satisfied with how much they smell like him he turns to everyone else. Each member of the Pack ends up scented and groomed, even Morgan and Merle. They were all shocked at the sheer size of Rick's wolf, easily towering over everyone else. They decide to go back inside and grab Duane and the cubs, not wanting to be away from each other. They take all the extra mattresses and lay them down to make a big wolf pile in the middle of the cell block.

Hunter and Reedus were asleep between Carl and Duane, where the two cousins were laying down next to each other. Sophia laid against Carl while he grooms her between her ears, and Duane was grooming the two cubs. Merle hobbles over to them and licks Duane's head, then Reedus's, before laying down on the Omega's other side. Morgan rest his head on Merle's back, keeping all the pups in sight. Carol laid down on Sophia's other side and falls asleep, Daryl licking Axel's blood from her fur.

Rick's one of the last ones to join the Pack, laying down on his side in front of all of them, and keeping both doors in sight with a slight turn of his head. Daryl moves from his spot between Carol and Glenn and Maggie, making his way over to his Mate and cleaning the cuts on his stomach. Bob shifts back to human form and takes a look, binding them to the best of his abilities with their limited medical supplies.

"Rick." He bites his lip, "How the hell are you so big?"

"I've never seen a Lycan get his size." Sasha adds.

"Me neither." Tara hums, "My commander at the academy was the biggest wolf I'd ever seen, and he would fit under Rick's belly, no problem."

Morgan's old Pack had yet to shift while gathering blankets and double checking the doors were locked. They were also counting ammo, food and water, medicine…. Anything the Pack might need in the next few weeks and making list for them to make runs.

Rick huffs out a breath and rumbles, sleepily. They smile and finish what they're doing, then join the others in the pile. Everyone was asleep when Daryl finally curls up next to Rick, laying his head on the Alpha's paws. Rick lays his head on Daryl's neck with a purr.

" _Tomorrow,"_ He projects his thoughts to his Mate _, "We'll begin planning our strategy to kill the Governor."_

Shocked that he could hear him while they were in wolf form, Daryl lifts his head and stares at the Alpha, " _Rick…"_

" _I'll present this Pack his head."_ Rick continues with a growl, " _I present his dead body to Glenn and Maggie and Merle. He will know their pain, and I make sure he suffers as they suffered."_

Daryl bares his teeth in a frightening smile, " _Yes Alpha."_


	11. Clear

"I want two on watch." Rick hands Maggie and Sasha the keys when they volunteer, "Eyes open, head down. Be safe. The field's filled with Walkers, and I didn't see or smell any snippers out there, but I want to keep on guard."

The Pack gathers behind the stairs under the nest, keeping an eye on the cubs while they talk. Daryl was on the second floor, leaning over the railing while they discussed their plans. "I'll get up in the guard tower, take out half them Walkers and give these guys a chance to fix the fences."

"No." Hershel shakes his head, "You gave birth less than a week ago and have had the shit beat out of you. You're still malnourished, and I'm amazed you're able to walk. You are staying with the cubs to keep you on your feet. You take on too many activities while your body is still recovering, and you could do permanent damage."

Daryl scowls and huffs, pacing in front of the door to his nest, but he doesn't say anything against the Elder. Hershel had already explained this to him when he scolded the man for hunting; if Daryl kept going the way he was, he ran the risk of becoming barren.

"Or we could use some of the cars to move the bus in place." Tara suggests.

"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets." Michonne says.

"We could pop them through the fence?" Andrea says, "Take some blunt stuff and stab them until enough is gone so we can get cars out. We still have to go on runs for supplies and hunting. Especially if Daryl's on bed rest."

"That's not a bad idea." Rick acknowledges, "But new ones are just going to replace the ones we kill and if we get so many of them piled up we'll have to go out there and burn them. That's too dangerous right now."

"We'll still need supplies." Morgan says, "When we were in King County we had a couple of stashes. We could go clean those out and bring the stuff here. More guns, more ammo, some canned food."

"Why didn't you say anything until now?" Beth seemed confused, "Wouldn't it have benefited us to just…. know about this, even if you guys didn't bring the supplies with you?"

"They've been here like two days." Sophia turns to the other Omega, "They would have said something later, after they got comfortable with us. We're still feeling out Pack rankings and stuff."

"She's right." Carl chimes in, "Plus it's a good idea to have bunkers with supplies away from here. What if they had brought everything with them and the Governor had driven through both sets of gates instead of just one. We would have to leave EVERYTHING here and run. Or if someone gets sick? Or we start running out of places close by to raid for supplies, months from now? Having stuff stashed outside the fences in case of emergencies is a good investment."

"What if another group finds our supplies and takes it? We'll have to keep inventory of everything inside each bunker, track everything going in and out to make sure nothing goes missing." Duane asks.

The adults stand back and watch the young members discuss strategies. This was a good lesson for the kids to learn how to take care of things by themselves. If, and it's a BIG IF, if they manage to outlive their parents and the other members of the Pack, then they needed to be able to think these kinds of situations through on their own.

…..

"Clear!" The group moves together as one while Merle keeps his rifle trained on the woman at the gate. She keeps the Walker on a pole in front of her and aims it at the other Walkers when they get too close.

"Tara! Open the gate!" Lizzy yelps when one gets to close. She had noticed the van with the gate over the hood, recognized it from Woodbury. They had used the truck to move the caged Walkers into the arena during Fight Nights. All these Walkers in the field were because of her Mate.

Daryl shoots the Walker before it can take a bite out of her. Rick starts unlocking the gate. "Are you alone?!"

"Just open the gate!"

"ARE YOU ALONE?!" Rick roars at her. She cowers under his black eyes but ducks inside as soon as the gate opens, dropping her Walker hostage.

"Hands up! Turn around!" Rick pushes Lizzy against the fence and checks her for any weapons. Tara comes over and takes her bag, passing it to Maggie to check, and avoids the look of betrayal her sister sends her. Daryl keeps his crossbow trained on her while the others start searching the trees for anymore of the Woodbury men.

"I asked if you were alone."

"I am." Lizzy pants, "Tara what's going on? I thought you said that your Pack was welcoming?"

"Yeah, MY Pack was." Tara nodded. "I also told you that my Pack was two to four members and that we merged with others. Rick's the Prime, and your Mate tried to kill us. You're lucky to be sitting there now, so I'd keep quiet if I were you."

"Everyone inside before we're spotted." Rick drags Lizzy to her feet and pushes her to the door. Tara and Sasha grab her arms and guide her inside the cell block. While she takes a minute to take in the run-down conditions the Pack gathers around her; everyone except Carol and the two cubs.

"You all live here?" She asks.

"Here and in the cell block." Glenn says, placing himself between her and the door.

"In there?" Lizzy moves forward, "Can I see?"

Daryl has his bow pointed at her before she takes two steps, Carl and Sophia take aim with their weapons on either side of him. Their actions spoke for themselves; she wasn't wanted.

"I'm not your enemy."

"We had that field and courtyard, it was OURS, until your Mate showed with that truck, tore down the fence and shot us up." Rick rumbles.

"He said you fired first."

"He lied."

"He killed an inmate that survived in here." Hershel adds, sitting down. Lizzy gasps when she sees his leg.

"Axel; we liked him. He was one of us." Daryl guides Carl and Sophia over towards Beth and Duane, keeping the four young members of their Pack with Morgan and Merle.

"I didn't know. As soon as I found out I came here." Lizzy turns to look at all of them. "I didn't even know half of you were in Woodbury until after the shoot out."

"That was days ago." Tara snaps.

"I said I came as soon as I could."

"Oh really?"

"Tara." Michonne waves the younger Alpha over to her and Andrea.

"Look…. I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done." Lizzy breathes, "But I'm here trying to bring us together, we have to work this out."

"There's nothing to work out." Rick demands the rooms attention. Lizzy's the last to look to him. "He comes here again, we'll kill him. We find any of his people out there while we're on runs… we'll kill them too. I hear that he's even looking at this prison, we kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will."

"We can settle this without blood." Lizzy's voice shakes, "There's room at Woodbury for all of you."

"You know better that that." Merle laughs. "We walk through those gates and the Governors gonna kill over half of us on the spot. The others…. A crippled Elder, an older Lambda, an Alpha that's barely popped his Knot, FOUR Omegas, and two cubs under a year old. They might let Hershel work in the infirmary, Carol will have to help in the nursery, Carl will go on the wall or be put on a team to do runs, the two cubs will be given to Betas to raise IF they decide to let them live."

"What-"

"They're two mouths to feed that can't contribute." Andrea adds, "As far as the Governors concerned, they're a waste of space. And we all know what will happen to the Omegas."

"They'd be added to the nursery or the housekeeping or the cooks." Lizzy says confused.

"Those are all Betas." Merle huffs, "Or they're Mated Omegas too afraid to go against their Alphas. The Woodbury Omegas are kept locked away when not doing chores or being passed around by the upper officers and the Governor."

"What?" The Pack could see the Beta's heart break at the news. They wait for her to gather her bearings.

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate? Did he say that?" The Elder asks.

"No."

"Then why did you come here?" Bob asks.

"Because he's gearing up for war." Lizzy snaps at Rick, "The people are terrified, they see you as killers. They're training to attack you."

"Tell you what." Daryl was pacing behind his Mate, "Next time you see Philip, you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye."

"We've taken to much shit for too long." Glenn growls, surprising a few of the Pack, "We've suffered enough at his hands. Merle. Me. Maggie…." Lizzy looks at the female Alpha, recognizing her as the one with Philip's scent and the dark bruising from the shoot out, "He wants a war, he's got one."

Lizzy sniffs her tears away and looks the Prime in the eye. "What do we do then? How do I help?"

…

They give Lizzy a car to get back to Woodbury and a gun to protect herself with. When she clears the tree line, Rick guides the Pack back inside to clean up and fix food for them to eat. Everyone gathers around the fire, trading stories and playing with half a deck of Uno cards. Daryl was laying down in wolf form, feeding Hunter and Reedus while Merle watched Duane and Morgan work on adding a solar yard light to his backup prosthetic. The little Omega was determined to give him a fully functional robot arm.

Rick comes over and kneels next to his Mate. He picks up little Reed when the cub starts crawling around in his wolf form and hands him to his Papa. Merle smiles down at his son and leans into Rick's hand when he scents his neck. When he reaches Daryl again the Omega was human, holding their sleeping daughter.

"Hey." He whispers.

Daryl hums back, his attention on adjusting his grip on the cub. "My mom always said when we had our own cubs, our instincts would guide us in caring for them better that him and our old man did. I don't think my will; can't even tell if I'm holding her right."

"Let me see." Rick steps closer but makes no movement to adjust Daryl's hold himself. "Try moving your hand to the left a little."

Daryl moves his hand from the little pup's butt to the side of her thigh. She relaxed into his hold more, curling into his arm and pressing her nose into his shirt with a little coo. The Omega purrs and brushes her hair with his thumb.

"You're doing fine." Rick rest one hand on Hunter's head and the other on Daryl's neck. He leans in and rest his head against his Mates, "You have great instincts. Being scare for your children is one of the joys of being a parent."

Daryl huffs and rolls his eyes. He sees Carl sitting across from Sasha and T-Dog with Sophia between his legs. The Alpha steals one of her cards and throws it into the pile, laughing when she hits his knee in protest. Rick turns to see Carl wrap his arms around the Omega and nuzzle her hair with a smile while Sophia takes a card that Glenn passes to her.

"Going on a run tomorrow. I'll take Michonne, Morgan and I was thinking Carl too. What do you think?" Rick hums.

"Why you need my opinion?"

"Carl's your son too, why wouldn't you get a say?" Daryl stiffens up and looks away. Rick was worried for a split second before he notices the clenched jaw. Daryl was trying not to smile. He had done the same thing all winter whenever the group would talk about their past and shared funny stories about the Before world.

"He's ready." Daryl clears his throat. "He ain't a pup no more, but with you, Morgan, and Michonne…. This will be good for him. Me and the others got it here."

"Ok." Rick smiles.

"And Rick?" Daryl waits for his Mate to look at him, "Let me know how he does. Honestly."

…..

Rick and his Packmates stop at a pile up of cars and get out, killing the Walkers before raiding the vehicles for weapons or anything they could use. Morgan notices Carl looking at the road in the direction they came from.

"Are you wondering why we didn't stop for him?" The Alpha asks the boy.

Carl shakes his head. "At first I did, but then I thought about how Sophia said she wanted to come with us. The guy was an Alpha, one without a Pack. If Sophia had come with us and we stopped for him…. If he had been in the car with her…."

Rick sees Carl's eyes flash black before he could shake it away, "I understand why we left him. But we left him for the Walkers without any way to defend himself. I also know that I couldn't have done any better than you guys did by driving away. I only thought of Sophia; you guys are thinking of the whole Pack."

Rick rumbles in pride at the maturity that Carl was showing. In the Before world, Rick might have stopped to help the man, hell he might have done it before the winter or Woodbury. The Prime was glad that Carl seemed to understand that no one could be trusted anymore; not if they weren't Pack.

Once they had gotten everything they could from the cars they head towards the first safe house Morgan's Pack had set up. They were going to go to all the safe houses and move everything closer to the prison. They cleaned out what was left in the police station and hit a few bars and liquor stores that had guns and ammo. They checked all the houses Morgan's group didn't get to one by one for food or other supplies.

Rick whistles when he sees the center town Morgan's Pack was held up in. "You guys were busy, huh?"

"No." Morgan growls, "We didn't have half of this up. All the birds and rodents in cages aren't our doing."

"Someone else moved into our territory." Michonne uses her sword to cut one of the wires down so they could move closer to the building they had claimed at the beginning. "We haven't been gone for more than a week. They've been watching and waiting for us to move or they got REALLY lucky."

"Let's grab the stuff and get out of here." Carl moves with his gun up, "This place smells wrong."

"What?" Morgan and Michonne share confused glances.

Rick nods in agreement. "Something's not right. In and out, come on."

"FREEZE!" The voice was laced with Alpha influence, which didn't work on the present group of Alphas, "HANDS. DROP WHAT YOU GOT AND GO! WEAPONS, SHOES, EVERYTHING! 10! 9!..."

"Carl, run to the car." Rick rumbles, aiming his gun at the man, "GO!"

Rick fires a shot at the man and the group splits up. Carl hides in an alley once he's far enough away from his dad. He was an Alpha, a presented Alpha. By the laws of the old world he was an adult; a young one but still. He'd stay safe, as his Prime and father had told him to, but he would not act like a pup anymore. He'd protect his Pack.

Morgan and Rick were behind cars, returning fire and dodging bullets. Michonne was making her way up to the roof while the guy was distracted. Carl moved in the allies to get closer. When the man ran out of bullets he disappeared from the ledge, just as Michonne appears on the next building. The man was on the street and firing again before the two Alphas behind the truck could reload their guns. Just as Rick comes up to fire, Carl appears on the man's left and gets a headshot at point blank.

"You ok?" Rick kneels and checks his son over.

"Yeah."

"I told you to go to the car." Rick catches his eye, "I didn't want you to have to do that."

"I had to." Carl pulls Rick to his feet, much stronger than the Prime remembered the boy being, "I'm your son, so of course I'm still going to listen to you as my father. But I'm not a pup anymore…. This world doesn't allow you much of a childhood. I'm thirteen and presented… you have to treat me like a member of the Pack, not just your pup."

Rick purrs and hugs his son, trying not to cry. Because Carl was right; this world didn't give him much of a childhood. He had to grow up so fast already, and still had so much growing to do. It was one of the reasons him and Carol had allowed him to court Sophia while they were both so young.

"He's dead." Morgan announces. Him and Michonne had taken the body armor and weapons off the guy, a middle-aged Alpha. The two were pulling the spears out of their holds, laying them on the ground so the Pack could move around easier. Rick and Carl start moving the makeshift walls and the cars out of the way, so they could move their vans closer to the buildings. The father and son start moving everything from the two vans and consolidating it into one, leaving the other one free for all the poles. They unwrap all the knives that had been tied and duct taped to the poles and place them in a chest they found in one of the homes, then loading the non-lethal wood into the empty van. They all keep watch for Walkers while they work to clear the street.

Carl gathers all the animals together and places the cages between the two vans. He finds about six skateboards and put them in the van with their other supplies, earning an eyebrow from Michonne. Carl looks away, blushing, "Tara and Sophia wanted to learn, and Duane said he'd teach us if we ever found any. Aren't you on watch?"

The female just laughs and ruffles the smaller Alpha's hair. "And the animals?"

"Dinner." Carl shrugs. Michonne frowns but nods. She didn't care for rat stew, despite Merle making it all winter. Duane had been breeding rabbits and rats for them, so they wouldn't starve. Morgan chuckles from where he was wrapping up all the barbwire when he hears them; Michonne flips him off.

It was late when they get inside and disable all the traps. Rick puts the last of the knives and hatchets in the chest, the innocent looking welcome mat thrown against a tree and all the knives in the hole retrieved. Morgan was still growling about almost stepping on it.

"Damn!" Carl exclaims walking into the room where Morgan and the others had lived. Rick couldn't say anything about the boy's language because he'd almost said the same. The Alpha that had moved into their Den had brought them a late Christmas present. A new crossbow, over a hundred guns (everything from handguns to military grade semi-automatics), they even found another chest full of grenades.

"There's food and ammo too. Spray paint, blankets…. medicine." Michonne grabs a bag and starts stuffing them full. Carl goes to help but finds Reedus's baby supplies. He picks up one of the bottles and turns it in his hands.

"Is this all you had for him?" He looks at Morgan, "One bottle, a blanket, some clothes. The bag of diapers is empty."

"Yeah."

Carl points at the wall with the town drawn on it in chalk, "Hunter and Reedus are going to need more supplies. Lori's friend Sara ran a baby store right around the corner. We can go and clean it out of supplies that are a lot harder to find. Clothes, food, bottles, cribs, cloth DIAPERS we can wash…."

"Alright." Rick rolls his eyes, "You don't have to make a big case about it."

"I'll go with him." Michonne grabs his sword, "A crib is a good idea, especially for two pups that are moving with open eyes and ears soon."

"Me and Rick will stay here and get the vans loaded down with all this." Morgan waves his hand in a circle. "See if you can get another car or truck to help bring in the haul."

…

"Alright, we grab the picture and get out. Ready?" Michonne had one hand on the door and the other on one of the skateboards with the rat on it. She opens the door and holds the bell, so it doesn't ring, then slides the board in, Carl kicking his in right after. The Walkers circle the two rats leaving a clear path for Michonne and Carl to get to the photo on the wall. A surprise Walker grabs Carl's foot but Michonne kills it before it makes too much noise. Carl sees the other Alpha put something in her bag and hands her the picture to put in there as well.

They're almost to the door when the Walkers finally see them, and they make a mad dash to get out before they're caught. They lean against the front door and laugh, until the go to leave and notice the door had shut on the straps of the bag. Their treasures were still inside.

"NO!" Carl kicks the door. "We have to go back! IT'S THE ONLY ONE LEFT!"

"What are you talking about?!" Michonne grabs his hand before he can open the door.

"The picture!" Carl wipes away his tears and sniffs. "It was the only one left. The chalk map had red lines through all the houses the guy burned down, including ours. We lost all the photo albums at the farm. This is the last one, I have to get it!"

"Wait. Ready?" Michonne opens the door enough to slip the bag through while Carl stabs the Walker that pushes its way out, then shoves it back inside and uses his body to shut the door again. Michonne reaches in the bag and pulls the picture out.

"Thank you." Carl wipes the dust off the glass, then decides to pull it out of the frame all together. Michonne looks at the photo, wondering what could have been worth Carl risking his life to get it.

Rick was front and center, laughing at a table with two men on the right side of him. He was young, his hair curly and a clean shave. He was wearing a police academy uniform and a graduation hat. One of the men was small with a fine layer of blond stubble, and shocking green hair. The other had thick black hair and was in a uniform as well, one arm thrown over the green haired guy's shoulders. Both of them were laughing and rubbing the green hair, while the smaller guy laughed and playfully pushed their hands away. An older couple was standing on the other side of the table, the woman holding a camera and the man was holding a tray of food, forever caught in the action of putting it on the table. Lori was in the picture too; on the other side of Rick and talking to the person taking the picture. She was pregnant just enough to show a bump with her dress on and holding up her hand to show a diamond ring. Behind them you could see a blurry banner and a football game on TV.

Carl sniffs again, running his finger over their faces. "Dad and Shane had just graduated from the Academy and they were out celebrating. They just told everyone that Lori was pregnant with me. My uncle, dad's brother Jeff, said that they would be engaged before dad graduated and when he lost the bet they made him dye his hair. He had a date that night…. He ended up Mating with that girl. When they went out to dinner at this diner…. dad proposed. He and Shane made fun of uncle Jeff, saying they waited until after the graduation and he'd dyed his hair to do it, but that dad had the ring for months."

Michonne takes the picture and looks at the back: "Left to right: Harrold, Emilia, Shane, Jeffery, Rick, Lori."

"It's the only one left that had dad's family in it." Carl folds the picture and puts it in his shirt pocket, buttoning it up so he didn't lose it. "The next time they all got together was a few months later and Lori insulted Jeff's fiancé for being an Omega. Him and dad fought, and dad never saw his parents or brother again. This picture's the only reason I know what my grandparents and uncle looked like. And now…."

"Come on." Michonne wraps her arm around the little Alpha and they head back to the baby store, "Let's get the stuff for the cubs and get back to your dad."

"I want Hunter and Reedus to know about them. What if they get older and start asking questions about how our Pack came to be? They should know their history; where they came from and why we are the way we are." Carl and Michonne walk in silence for a few minutes before the young Alpha turns to the woman, "What did you grab? When we were in there?"

Michonne pulls out a sculpture of an arching abstract red, blue, yellow and green cat. "I couldn't just leave this behind. It's just too damn gorgeous."

Carl laughs all the way back.

…

"This is for you." Rick hands Daryl the crossbow they found. The Omega hesitates but takes it anyway, pulling it up to check the scope. He smiles and puts it over his shoulder.

"Thank you. How'd it go?" Daryl asks Rick while the Pack unloads the three vehicles. Carl was helping Merle unload all the animals and taking them to the corner of the court yard where they would be gutted later.

"Good." Rick laughs, "Really good."

The Alpha tells Daryl everything that had happened. Carl's reaction to leaving the guys stranded, and later stopping to pull the guys blood covered backpack from the dead man's remains. He told him about Carl not listening and the reason the boy gave for not doing it. Michonne chimes in when he gets to the part where they split up and got the photo and the baby supplies. The ride home.

"He's really grown up." Rick smiles.

"He's confident, determined." Daryl agrees, "Aggressive at times but loving. He's got a lot of courage and energy, but still focused. A fighter and problem solver."

"What's going on?" Michonne raises an eyebrow. Daryl walks away, helping Carl lift one of the full cribs.

"Thanks Papa." Carl beams.

"Come on Asvoi." Daryl purrs, "Let's get this inside."

Merle watches them go inside before approaching Rick and Michonne. "Asvoi, huh? Means badger."

"Badger?" Rick hums.

"Yep." Merle smiles. "Carl has been named. He's officially Daryl's son in the eye of our mother's tribe. He's Gigwaga; bound blood. Family. Pack."


	12. Easy There Samurai

Rick, Daryl and Hershel arrive on time for the meeting Lizzy had arranged between the Governor and Rick. They check the surrounding area for any extra people or anything that might set off a gun fight and find the Governor already there, waiting. Rick sends Daryl outside to take watch with Hershel. When the sun is finally at the right position, the Governor men show up. Rick was already inside the barn waiting.

Lizzy, Martinez and Dr. Milton get out of the truck. Daryl had his crossbow raised and pointed at the driver before Martinez could cut the engine. "What the hell?! Why's your boy already in there?!"

"Philip's inside?" Lizzy goes in to make sure the two hadn't already killed each other. Daryl paced outside while Hershel leaned against their car. Martinez leans against the truck while Milton writes in a journal on the hood.

"Maybe I should go in there?" Hershel stands up. Daryl guides him back to his spot before the Elder can grab his crutches.

"The Governor thought it best if he and Rick spoke privately." Milton chimes in.

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl looks at the Beta.

"Milton Mamet."

"Great." Daryl scoffs, remembering what the others had said about the doctor, "He brought his butler."

"I'm his advisor." Milton glares at Martinez when the Alpha chuckles.

"What kind of advice?"

Milton sighs, "Planning. Biters. You know sorry, I don't feel like I need to explain myself to the henchmen."

Daryl bares his teeth, "Better watch your mouth sunshine."

Martinez butts in before Daryl can draw blood. "Look, if you and I are gonna be out here pointing guns at each other all day, do me a favor…. Shut your mouth Beta."

Daryl laughs it off, picking up a rock and throwing it before he resumes pacing. Hershel watches him, "Calm down son. If you get to worked up, in this heat, and so far from-"

"I know." Daryl huffs, "Nerves."

"May I ask why the hell this Beta is so out of it?" Martinez scoffs, "He a druggy or something?"

"Or something." Hershel readjust his gun in a silent threat. Daryl chuckles and pats him on the back.

Lizzy comes back out in a huff. "They sent me away."

"It's surprising for me." Hershel says, "Rick came here to talk to the Governor. It's a meeting between two Primes that don't get along. Their Mates should to be in there if things go south to ease the tension."

"Their Mates?" Martinez looks at the Prison Pack, "Then why didn't you bring Rick's?"

"You have a nose for a reason." Daryl growls, "You should use it."

Milton perks up, "You're Rick's Mate? Why would he take a male Beta as his Mate? As the Prime would he not need children to carry on the family? You must have a Breeder then, correct?"

"I hear that word come out of your mouth like that again and any agreement they come together on is done and I get to rip your tongue out of your mouth and throw it in the middle of a Herd." Daryl gets closer to the Beta with each word until he's leaning over the man and snarling in his face. He stands up and kicks dirt onto Milton's pants leg. "I don't feel like I need to explain my Pack to the henchmen."

"I don't see why we can't talk amongst ourselves. It's a good thing, them sitting down and working it out. Nobody wants another battle." Milton says, getting up.

"Wouldn't really call it a battle." Daryl huffs.

"I did." Milton holds up his journal, "When I recorded it. Somebody's got to keep a record of what we went through. It'll be a part of our history."

"Makes sense." Hershel agrees, "Duane does the same thing."

"Duane? Who's that?"

"Merle's pup." Daryl scowls. The smirk drops from Martinez's face.

"Merle has a pup?"

"And a cub under a year old." Hershel tells them. "He was born about a week before your people found Merle. He noticed your people getting too close to their Den and left his Pack to protect them. First time he's seen his Litter since the cub was born, he was in too much pain to hold them. That was your doing; Woodbury's doing. Remind me again how you think we're going to work this out?"

The sounds of Walkers cut the group off, and Daryl leads Martinez and Lizzy to them. Seeing how it was only four, Daryl lowers his bow. "After you."

Martinez mocks laughing, "No way, you first."

Lizzy pushes past both of them and takes out the first one.

"Pussy." Martinez growls at Daryl. He swings his bat and smashes the second Walkers head against one of the metal towers. Daryl nods his acknowledgement, then shoots the third. The arrow goes through the Walker's skull and ends up in the last one's throat. Martinez goes to swing again, but before he can take the shot a hunting knife downs the Walker. The Alpha turns around to see Daryl panting, having thrown the knife. The Omega pushes past the Alpha and starts searching the dead bodies to the confusion of the Alpha.

"Look what he's got." Daryl holds up a half smoke pack of cigarettes. He takes one and puts it in his mouth then offers the pack to the Alpha.

"Nah, I prefer menthols." Martinez starts walking back to the others.

"Douchebag." Daryl snorts, passing him while lighting the cigarette. "You Army or somethin'?"

"Nah, just hate the Biters. After what they did to my Omega and our Litter." The Alpha shakes blood off his bat, "You?"

"Sucks man." Daryl puffs smoke from his nose. "Only served one tour."

"You got a family? Besides Merle?"

"Got my brother-in-law, Morgan, and ma nephews, Duane and Reedus." Daryl flicks the end off then takes another drag, "Got Rick and our son Carl and the cub, Hunter."

"You got a cub too?" Martinez asks quietly, "How old?"

"Less than a week." Daryl glares at him, "Hurt more pushing her out than gettin' hit by you, that's for damn sure."

"What?" Martinez goes pale.

"Don't any of ya use your damn noses?" Daryl puts the cigarette out against the bottom of his boot. "It's there for a reason. I'm an Omega. Three days after I gave birth to Hunter I was in Woodbury, encircled by Walkers with the town callin' for mine and Merle's blood. As far as I'm concerned, this is a joke and we'll be back to planning each other's massacres before the moon's high."

They get back and see Hershel and Milton talking about how Rick cut off the Elder's leg to save him from a bite. Martinez looks at Lizzy and Hershel, then points his bat at Daryl, "Why the hell was Rick's Omega, that just gave birth, doing in Woodbury during a fucking shootout?!"

"Watch it!" Daryl growls, "I'm Omegan but I'm also a Luna and a Theta. Keep opening that mouth and I gonna take that as an invitation to start pulling shit out of it!"

"Daryl is Rick's equal. He makes his own choices." Hershel states calmly, "Not to mention Daryl was raised to be an Alpha, even after he presented. I'd like to meet the man who thinks they can tell him what he can and can't do."

Daryl rumbles and scents Hershel before sitting down next to him. Milton turns on the Omega, suddenly interested in him, "How is it that you can growl and rumble like an Alpha? I thought Omegas could only coo and purr; are you unable to do those things or-"

Daryl snarls and flashes his teeth when the doctor goes to touch Daryl's stomach, leveling his loaded crossbow with the Beta's left eye. Martinez and Lizzy both jump back, unsure how to address the situation, while Hershel continues to read calmly.

"How can you allow an Omega to be out here with a weapon?" Martinez asks, "It's dangerous!"

"I think Daryl's more dangerous than anything else, including those herds." Hershel continues to ignore the others.

"Daryl?" Rick calls out as him and the Governor walk out of the barn, "What's going on?"

"Looks like your people are as savage as the Walkers are." The Governor rumbles.

"The bastard tried to touch my stomach." Daryl growls, his eye flashing orange. Rick growls, and Milton shows his neck. The Governor pushes past the Omega and pulls Milton to his feet. When he turns around again Rick was standing in front of the Woodbury group while Daryl helps Hershel back into the car.

"He's an Omega." Martinez nods at Daryl, "Rick's Mate. He just gave birth a few days ago and is still tender; Milton tried to touch him, he got defensive. He was within his right to protect himself, I wouldn't call THAT savage."

"An Omega?" The Governor turns his good eye on Daryl. The Omega was straddling his bike and lighting another cigarette before flipping the group off and gunning the engine. He walks the bike to Rick, who leans over and kisses him before the Omega takes off down the road, shooting a Walker with his handgun as he passes it. "Merle's baby brother is an Omega?"

"And my Mate." Rick rumbles as Hershel starts the car. Rick gets into the passenger side and glares at the Woodbury group. "Don't forget our agreement."

The Governor watches them drive after Daryl, back towards the prison.

The Pack gathers when Rick gets back to discuss what they had come to agree on. "So, I met the Governor, sat with him for a while, talked. He wants the prison; he wants us gone. Dead. He demanded I hand over Michonne and Merle. When I told him that wasn't an option he explains how he was going to kill everyone here; what he planned to do to any of the ones he kept alive. Then he told me to think about, gave me two days before our next meet up."

Rick catches each one of his Pack's eyes. "We're going to war."

….

Rick watches as Carl, Sophia, Bob, Tyreese, Tara and Maggie bang on pot and scream at the Walkers to drag them towards the gate and away from Glenn, Michonne, Daryl, Sasha, T-Dog and Andrea while they set up traps in the field. Carol was inside with Duane, Merle, Beth, Hershel and the cubs. When Rick doesn't show up to make the deal, Woodbury will be on their doorstep before sundown. They had to get as much of the place booby trapped as possible.

It's not until after lunch that Daryl finds Duane in his cell with a sleeping Reedus against his chest, sobbing.

"Hey. Shh shh shh." The Omega kneels, wiping tears from the little boy's face, "What's wrong, little Gavli?"

"Gavli." Duane sniffles, "Papa said that means raccoon. Daddy can't find Merle… He's gone, he feels far away."

Daryl holds the Omega to his chest and coos, trying not to let panic seep into his scent.

' _RICK!'_ He calls out to his Mate in his head, ' _FIND MORGAN! DUANE'S-'_

"I'm here!" Morgan appears in the cell doorway, panting and close to tears, "I heard you…. I don't know how but… Merle, Michonne's gone too…. They-"

"Take him." Daryl hands the pups over to their father and sprints down the stairs, calling for Rick. The Alpha meets him at the door and Daryl follows him to the car. Bob was at the gate with Ty and they grab him too. If either of them were injured, they'd need a doctor with them. And if they were where Rick thought they were….

They get where the meeting with the Governor was supposed to happen and find Walkers swarming the place. There was a car with the doors open, and a stopped cassette tape surrounded by dead Walkers. Woodbury men were being eaten by Walkers everywhere. Daryl, Rick and Bob take care of the remaining Walkers quickly, then hunt for Michonne and Merle.

"MERLE!" Daryl screams, "MICHONNE! WAYA! TSULA!"

Rick throws his head back and Howls for his Pack, Daryl and Bob quick to follow his example. They hear a weak, sobbing Howl returned and sprint to the building it came from. Bob's the first one inside and is pushing a screaming and crying Daryl back before Rick can register what was before his eyes.

"NOOOOO!"

…..

Michonne was hot wiring a car when she heard something come up behind her. She pulls out her sword and stands up, ready to kill the Walker before it can take a bite out of her.

"Easy there samurai." Merle blocks the sword with his prosthetic, "Don't damage the goods, now."

"What are you doing here, Merle?" The Alpha groans.

"Following you, what else?" The Beta leans against the car as Michonne ducks back under. "Why are you doing this? We should be at the prison helping them get ready for the Governor to come to us."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Michonne stands up, "This is on me! This war, our Pack divided on staying in our Den or leaving. If I had killed this bastard when I had the chance…. We'd still have the field, we could have been plowing for crop right now. Running around in our wolf forms with the cubs, teaching them how to hunt and track and…. And…."

Merle pulls her into a hug, "This isn't on you. But going to the meeting and doing what, surrendering? Trying to take out the Governor with all his men there? I know that Alpha, he won't play fair. You go, and you'll be committing suicide."

"And our Pack will be safe." Michonne wipes her eyes.

"You're not going alone."

"Merle-"

"And you're trying to connect the wrong wires. Hop in, I'll show you how it's done."

"Ready?" Merle hands Michonne a bottle of stale soda. When she nods he flips on the radio and rolls down the windows, slowly turning it up until Walkers start appearing out of nowhere. He puts a hand on her arm to calm her as they become surrounded, then he starts pulling up slowly. They start coasting down the street, stopping when the Walkers get to far away. By the time they get to the meeting point with the Governor, their small herd is almost in the hundreds. He drives them between two buildings, hidden from view of the Walkers.

"GO!" They duck out of the car and take opposite buildings, closing the doors just as the herd passes, chasing the music from the car as it rolls away. The Governor's men come around the corner and start taking out the Walkers. Michonne and Merle use silenced guns to down the Woodbury Alphas, giving the Walkers food. Michonne runs out of bullets first.

"Shit!" She hisses under her breath. She'd been jumping from window to window around the building, so they couldn't pinpoint her location; if they even noticed her.

Merle sees Michonne duck out of the window and feels her frustration through their bond. She was out then. He gets another six before someone notices him, and another four after that before he feels the first punch. Michonne flares in their bond, anger and pain clear. She was coming to him.

' _NO!'_ Merle yells at her, ' _They don't know you're here! Stay out of sight, come to me when they're gone!'_

' _Merle!'_ He feels her response shake, like she was crying.

' _If I don't make it, kill it.'_ Merle sends to her as the Governor comes inside his building, gun drawn. ' _I don't want them to see that. Not the boys… not Morgan…. Not Daryl.'_

' _MERLE!'_

' _Micky… I'm s-'_

POW!


	13. It's Over

Glenn had everyone packing up their cells to make it look like they'd left when Sophia found the map. The Pack gathered around the table, looking at the yellowed details of the prison.

"How do we tell which parts are safe and which ones aren't?" Beth asks.

"We mark it." Tara says, "Like we did for the tunnels with the spray paint."

Carl pulls out a blue highlighter and colors in C Block. "We'll need to go and triple check each hallway before coloring it in. No way any Walkers can get through kind of thing."

"There's a lamination machine in the Warden's office." Sasha says. "I think we should label the rooms and cell blocks and then take a car battery and laminate it. Find some dry erase markers on the next run and color code the map. Red for areas that aren't cleared, blue for ones we know are. We can find another color for any halls or rooms we're not sure are safe. Then we hang it up were everyone can find and read it."

"Sounds like a plan." Maggie says. "Put this away for now. We don't need Woodbury getting ahold of this information. Just in case."

"Hershel! Rick…. Daryl…. Go, now." Tyreese storms in, panting and calling for Hershel. The Elder hobbles outside and Ty stops everyone else from leaving. "It's bad. Rick said for us to stay here."

"I'd like to see him stop me." Morgan pushes past Ty and starts for the door. "Carol! Duane and Reedus are asleep in the nest."

"Ok!"

….

"Watch his head!"

"His legs! His legs! Get them up on the bed, come on!"

"I need a new towel! Michonne put pressure here!"

"Give me your lighter Daryl, I need to sterilize the knife! Is the water boiling yet?!"

"I've got Hershel and Morgan!" Rick bust into cell block D where they had taken Merle. The Beta was hanging onto life by a thread. He managed to turn his body enough when the Governor shot him, so the bullet missed his heart. Unfortunately, the bullet was now stuck in one of his rib bones and had nicked the left lung. They had to remove the bullet and try to fix the lung so blood didn't fill it. Daryl had broken down when they found Michonne using her shirt to stop the bleeding and Merle passed out under her. He'd pulled himself together long enough to get to the prison and get Merle in the cell block before he broke again.

Rick pulls his make into his arms and just lets him cry in out as quietly as he could. Hershel, Bob and Morgan all had medical experience, and the two younger males had been in the Military; they knew how to keep their cool under extreme pressure with little to no supplies. If anyone could save Merle it was those three. Michonne keeps herself busy, running around getting supplies they might need and cleaning bloody towels for them.

When they have to make a breathing tube to help Merle move air, Rick takes Daryl out of the cell block, yelling for Michonne to come find them if something happens or whenever they finish. Daryl waits until the hit the courtyard before collapsing into his wolf form, whining. Rick shifts as well and curls up around him, grooming his fur and chuffing to calm his Mate. The rest of the Pack starts moving everything into the cars, walking around the pair and not really talking to each other. Once the cars were loaded down they move them behind the metal gates where the prison buses were stored. Glenn is the first one to come to them.

"What happened?" He kneels down and rest one hand between Daryl's ears, resting his head against Rick's. The Prime had no words but pushes an image of Merle dying in the cell block as hard as he could at Glenn, praying the bond between the two Alphas was strong enough. When his fur starts to dampen with Glenn's tears, he can confirm it is.

"He'll need more blood." Glenn sniffs, "If they open him up to remove the bullet, he'll need blood. Daryl-"

" _You can go, Datsi."_ The Omega sends to him. " _Just be careful."_

"Always am." Glenn rest his head against the Omega's in a sign of comfort before sprinting towards D Block.

" _Merle's stubborn and strong."_ Rick rumbles. " _He'll make it."_

" _He can't stay here like this."_ Daryl swallows _, "When the Governor comes after us he'll take advantage of Merle being out like this and kill him. We have to move him; Hershel and Bob and a few others can take him to the safe house we got set up with the medicine and keep him there while we deal with the Governor."_

" _Once we're sure he's stable we'll move him. Until then we just need to get the Den ready."_ Rick licks at Daryl's hair, then nuzzles his neck. " _We left the nest for you to pack up. Once that's done, we move on to stage two."_

" _Ok."_ Daryl gets up and heads inside. Rick shakes the dirt from his fur and shifts back, going to check on Merle.

"How is he?" Rick comes as close as he dares, watching Morgan and Bob focus over Merle's open chest. Hershel was with Glenn and Michonne, hooking the Alphas up to two different IVs.

"Once the bullet is removed we'll be able to see if there was any damage to the lung and surrounding muscles." The Elder answers. "If there's no further damage than he'll live. If there is…"

"We'll need to find out the extent of his injuries before we'll be sure." Rick rumbles. "Once he's stable enough to move we need to get him out of here. The Governor could be here at any point and it'll be safer if he's not in the crossfire."

….

The prison was empty except for Walkers when the Governor drives through the gate, Martinez aiming a grenade launcher at one of the towers and firing. Another Alpha aims a military grade Humvee machine gun at the opposite tower and puts bullets through the wall all the way up. The caravan pans out in the field, shooting at the towers and Walkers without a care. Martinez takes out another tower before joining the Walker shootout. Philip watches the Alphas and waits until the last Walker falls before getting out of the truck.

His Delta Force follows him to the gate and they drive a truck through it, fanning out and cocking their guns at every window and doorway, looking for someone trying to shoot. As they push into the prison and start searching every available hiding spot, Rick rumbles from his place in the trees outside the fence.

His Pack was behind him, everyone in their wolf forms expect for Morgan, Hershel, Bob, Beth and the cubs. They had taken a car to the safe house, waiting to see if Merle would survive his surgery. Carl was next to him and growling low in his throat. When he steps forward, Rick snaps at his ear and the younger Alpha backs down. Daryl takes his place, ears flat to his head and teeth bare when Rick looks at him, daring his Mate to try and make him back downs too. Rick chuffs and shakes his fur and Daryl relaxes, ears forward on the prison.

"Soon." Rick rumbles. When the last of the Governor's men goes inside, Michonne's wolf appears on the roof of the cell block, the signal to move in. "NOW!"

Rick's Pack takes off in a full sprint, crossing the distance with ease and getting into position. Glenn and Maggie were on the crosswalk between D and C block ducking behind metal shields. Carl, Duane, Sasha, and Sophia stay in the woods to pick off any that tried to escape. Carol and Tara go up in one tower; Daryl and Tyreese in another. Rick shifts into his human form as he skips up the stairs and into C block with T-Dog following close behind him. He goes into the tunnels with a tear gas grenade and follows the Governors scent, while T-Dog goes to the boiler room to set off the alarms. The others would be ready by that time.

" _Now, T."_ He throws the grenade around the corner of the tunnel at the Governor's feet and runs. He hears their screams of shock and pain echo over the sound of the sirens, drawing the Walkers from the Purple zone to them. He hides in the office under the desk in the guard tower inside C block. He hears the Governor rushing everyone out and waits until they were gone before jumping down the stairs and locking the doors to the cell block and the tunnels. If any Walkers followed them, the Pack would at least be able to have one place to sleep tonight.

The Governor's Deltas run headfirst into the court yard where the others were lying in wait. Everyone ducks and tries to avoid getting shot on their way to the truck but only a third of their people make it. Rick waits until the truck was leaving before activating the traps by the remote control in his pocket. One of the truck's tires catch on the barbed wire, causing it to lose control. The other truck stops long enough to pull more people into the bed before the Governor pushes the driver out of his seat and floors it, leaving behind a group of people and their guns.

Rick shifts into his wolf form and breaks through the door with red eyes, giving chase to the truck all the way to the gate. The Woodbury Alphas scream when they see him and drop their guns. Some stay in the truck while others fall off into the tall grass. Rick ignores them and jumps over the group left behind; he wanted the truck. He gets close enough to rip a hole in the back tire with his teeth before the truck passes through the last gate. Rick comes to a stop, dropping the piece of tire he managed to grab and growls, bloody teeth bared.

The Governor stops the car and gets out, pointing his gun at Rick. The monstrous wolf growls again and takes a step forward. The rest of his Pack from the woods comes out and snarls at the truck, Carl dropping the corpse of one of the Woodbury men he'd run into. The Woodbury man in the passenger seat jumps the gear shift and another drags the Governor up into the tailgate before they burn rubber getting out of there. Rick throws his head back to Howl a warning at the retreating vehicle, but it comes out as a loud roar instead. Carl remembers hearing the same noise from Before in movies about knights and dragons and magic. The Roar was not only a warning not to mess with Rick and his Pack, but it also screamed strength, confidence and pride; a dare for them to try to take them out again.

Once the truck disappears Rick leads his Pack into the field where the others had the Woodbury members kneeling on the ground. They encircled them with their wolf forms, snarling and growling at each movement. Rick pushes up against the overturned bus, moving it towards the gateless opening. The three Omegas and Carl help, pushing the bus in the way to act as a door, keeping the Walkers out of the now cleared field. Once that's done Rick heads over to the rest of his Pack. He watches as the Woodbury men cower at the enormous Alpha before them, Carl and the others joining in the circle of bare teeth.

Rick huffs in amusement at his Pack, then nudges Glenn with his snout. The Alpha shifts and the others follow his example, aiming their guns at kneeling Alphas. Rick shifts and walks into the circle, pulling the first guy up and searching him. He takes everything that can be used as a weapon from the Alpha including his shoelaces. Once he's done he pushes the Alpha to his knees again and hands the items he finds to Maggie, who sets them in a cart to be taken back into the prison. He pulls the next one up and starts again, taking the Alphas weapons. When he reaches for the man's belt the Alpha takes a swing at him. Rick stops the fist from hitting him and knocks the guy's knife out of his hand before he can stab him. Daryl puts an arrow through the guys eye and Tara drags the body out of the circle to continue stripping it of weapons.

"Don't try anything like he did, ok?" Rick pulls the next guy up, "Me and my Pack aren't in a good mood; especially with the Governor's Delta force."

There was eight Woodbury Alphas and by the time he'd gotten to the last two, another one of them was dead. The last of the Alphas were much smaller than the men before them. Rick pulls the next Alpha up and starts searching for weapons; it wasn't until he pulls the boys bag off that he notices the smallest one. The last Alpha was shaking, a muffled whine coming from his nose. Rick figures he was just scared of being in enemy hands until he notices a hint of blue to the boy's lips. He wasn't holding his breath, but he also wasn't breathing.

"Shit!" Rick kneels next to the boy, pulling off his backpack and jacket. He pulls the boy into his chest and starts rubbing at his arms, back and chest to stimulate blood flow. Daryl was next to him, cooing at the boy and trying to help. He looks up and sees the other Alpha looking down at them, trembling and crying. He kept glancing at the bag Rick had thrown to the grown.

"If you have something that can help, get it and get over here!" The Theta snaps. The Alpha grabs the bag and slides to a stop next to them, dropping to his knees and pulling the smaller male into his arms. He adjusts the boys head to the center of his chest and pulls out a box from the bag. Inside the box was an L shaped metal piece that he shakes and holds up to the other boy's mouth.

"Come on, Evan. Remember your breathing exercises. Match my breathing." It takes a few minutes before Evan can stop gasping for breath and coughs. Daryl moves forward, pulling the kid into a sitting position with his knees bent and feet on the ground. He pushes the boy's head between his knees and pulls out his water bottle, making Evan take small sips.

"I've got it!" Sophia comes running towards them from the cell block, waving something in the air. Carl and Duane step forward, checking the thing over and turning it in their hands. When all three are satisfied, Carl moves to sit next to his parents and pops the lid to the can. It makes a crisp sound as the carbonation is released.

"Here." He helps the boy tilt his head back and take a sip. "Caffeine helps to open your airway during an asthma attack or after a seizure. And we all know there's nothing as caffeinated as a Mountain Dew. Drink slow and not too often, otherwise it can make you sick. Keep your head down when you're not drinking to help the air flow better."

"Where did you get a soda?" The boy gasps as he takes another sip.

"Our uncle Glenn found them on a run." Sophia smiles.

"He gave them to us on the first snowfall." Carl says, "He said since we don't really have a way to keep track of time and what not, the first snow of the year would be our Christmas. He got me and Sophia a can each. This one's mine but you need it more than I do."

"Really?"

"We can find more." Duane says, holding up the inhaler, "Do you need another round?"

Evan shakes his head and leans back into the other Alpha, "Thanks Patrick."

The Alpha hums and brushes his hair away from his face, holding up the water bottle Daryl gave him and reminding him to drink that too.

"Can I?" Rick holds out his hand. The two boys look at each other and Pat reaches out first. Rick takes his wrist gently and smells at the small glands there. Alpha. He lets him go and asks Evan to do the same. His hand shakes the whole time, but Rick makes sure to be even more gentle when he sniffs the glands. Nothing. Rick puts the boy's hand down and stands up, turning in the rest of the Woodbury men who had been sitting there quietly with the rest of Rick's Pack.

"Care to explain why an Alpha who's barely presented and out of his rut, and an unpresented PUP, is doing out here fighting?!" Rick growls. Evan whimpers and curls into Patrick's side. Daryl watches Rick standing in front of them, shielding them, and pulls both of the pups into his arms. Carl gets up and stands in front of Duane and Sophia protectively. Rick was right; Evan didn't smell like an Alpha, Beta, OR Omega. He was a pup, a child. The Governor had brought a child with asthma out here to kill them.

"How old are you?" Daryl whispers in his ear, watching the Woodbury Alphas argue with Rick.

"12." Evan answers, "Pat's 14. He presented almost two weeks ago."

"Three days before you guys showed up in Woodbury." Patrick clarifies.

"He's old enough to be out here." One of the men argues. "It's not like he can stay a kid forever."

"He's unpresented." Rick snarls. "What would you have done if he wasn't an Alpha? Or a Beta? What if he went into heat in the middle of this instead of having an asthma attack?"

"Then I'd have sat him on my knot." The Alpha snorts, "Not much else they can-"

Daryl hears Evan cry hearing that and gets up, pulling the man's head back and stabbing him in the throat with his knife.

"Omega's can do a lot more than that." He snarls at the dying man, "And you better watch your mouth in front of this Pack's Theta."

He drops the body and drives his boot into the skull, smashing it to pieces and wiping his boot on the man's shirt. He looks at the last three Alphas and points his knife at them, teeth bare. "I don't two shits how you were raised or what Pack you were in before. This is MY TERRITORY! You will smarten up or I'll do a lot worse before letting you die. Got it?!"

"Fucking bitc-" Michonne takes the next one's head off with her katana.

Daryl looks at the last one who was just staring at the two bodies next to him in shock. Rick pulls his gun out and shoots him. He looks at the rest of the Pack and then the two pups cowering from them. "Beth, Sasha. Will you guys help them into the cell block? Glenn, T-Dog, Ty, get these bodies up to the courtyard and have them stripped of weapons. Once that's done meet us inside. We'll need to get everything set back up in our Den before we go after the Governor."

….

Daryl, Rick, Michonne, and Tyreese were heading down the road to see if the Governor was lying in wait for them somewhere when they find the caravan the Governor's men got away in. Surrounding the cars were Woodbury men as Walkers, eating other Woodbury men. Michonne and Daryl start taking them out one at a time. Rick goes to check the rest of the cars for survivors, while Ty looks at the cars to see if they're damaged. He's looking at the big military truck when he hears the banging on the window and ducks with a yelp. The others move quick, pointing their weapons at the woman inside. Daryl opens the door and motions for her to get out, then checks for anyone else inside.

"Where's the Governor?" Rick growls. The woman wraps her arms around herself, looking at all the Woodbury citizens. Ty reaches out slowly, pulling her to sit down.

"What happened?" He asks. The others back off, knowing he'd be the calmest of them and the most likely to get her to talk.

"The Governor wasn't happy we retreated." She sniffles. "He wanted us to go back and push further in. All of us wanted to go home and just leave the prison to you as long as you left us alone. That was slaughter back there. He got mad and then… then he…."

Rick looks at the Walkers around him. The Governor had killed his own people because they refused to fight in an unneeded war.

"What's your name?"

"Karen."

"Alright. I'm Tyreese. This is my Prime Rick. My Luna and Theta Daryl. And the samurai is Michonne."

"I know who she is." Karen nods. "I know all of you. Merle's brother and the Alpha who wants Woodbury."

"Oh my god." Rick walks away and kicks one of the Walkers, sending it towards the trees and snapping it's back against one.

"Rick doesn't want Woodbury." Ty says, "He wants the Governor dead because of what he did to our Packmates."

"The Governor?"

Michonne steps in, "Merle was one of ours. The Governor got to close to the Den so Merle joined as a spy to keep the Governor away from us. Then he drove a truck full of Walkers through our gates which took the field from us. Then he found Glenn and Maggie, an Alpha mated pair in our Pack and took them to Woodbury. He beat Glenn and locked him in a room with a Walker. He raped Maggie. When we went into Woodbury it was to get our people back; one of ours was killed and Daryl was taken hostage. You locked him in a ring with his brother surrounded by Walkers and demanding blood. The Governor told us to surrender the prison and our Omegas to him and he'd leave us alone. And you expected us to not fight back?"

"I didn't know about any of that." Karen shakes her head, "He said you guys were after Woodbury and that your Prime would take us, the women and Omegas and-"

"I'm gonna stop you there." Daryl growls, "Rick still asks me permission to hold my hand because his last mate had him by the knot on a chain. He was so suppressed he almost starved himself of basic pheromones, like from his kids or even his own scent because she forced him to use Dampeners and Suppressants just walking around their house. The only thing he'd do to your women and Omegas is give them a nice meal and send them on their way if they didn't want to stay."

"The Governor made it sound like you guys were savages."

"A savage wouldn't help Patrick and Evan when the boy goes into an asthma attack after the shit ya'll pulled. And we're not the ones that let an unpresented pup join the front lines of a shootout." Daryl snarls.

"Evan was there?" Karen gasps, "The Governor said he wasn't going to bring him."

"Well he did." Michonne comes closer. "We're going to Woodbury to get the others like them, the pups and the Omegas that are being forced to do things they don't want to. You can come with us or take one of these cars and go. But know that if we find out you went to the Governor and tell him anything, your death will not be swift."

"I know how to find out about the Omegas." Karen stands up, "Milton was the Governor's advisor, anything he didn't want people to find out about him he hid in Milton's lab. It's how a lot of us found out about him having affairs with others in Woodbury. The Omegas schedules will be listed there. And you'll need me to get in the front gate."

…..

It's early morning when the group gets back to the prison. Rick leads the caravan to the fence and drives through the opening where Glenn and Maggie pull the bus out of the way to let the cars through. Once the last of the cars goes through they turn and push it back into place as the makeshift gate. Karen and Tyreese were helping the Omegas, pups, cubs, and two Betas mothers off the bus.

Daryl was holding a seven-year-old girl who was staring at everything with cautious eyes, true to her young Elder ways. Patrick comes to meet them and wraps her in a hug, "Mika!"

One of the Beta mothers pulls Evan into her arms, sobbing as soon as he was in reach, "My pup!"

There were twelve Omegas, male and female, and nine were in various stages of pregnancy. Rick leads them into D block and warns them about the Walkers in the tunnels, showing all of them that the doors were locked, and they didn't have to worry about them getting into the actual cell block. Then he leads them into C block and shows them the map that Maggie, Duane and Carl were working on. He has them all seated and eating when Morgan comes out of the cell block.

"How is he?" Rick moves quick, speaking low and casting a glance a Daryl who had yet to see the man. The Prime didn't even realize they were back yet.

"He hasn't stopped running his mouth since he got home." Morgan grins.

"And I'll run it however long I want!" Merle leans against the door, "Where the hell's my hug Daryleena!"

Daryl had his face buried in Merle's chest before Rick could make it over to the Beta to greet him. He leans his head against Merle's and just breathes him in.

Alive and safe at home.


	14. Be An Alpha

"Hey Rick, mind if I talk to ya for a minute?" Merle walks over to the Prime. The Alpha had been working on the trucks, getting them ready for the next run, but he takes a second to wait for his brother-in-law to approach him.

"What's up Merle?" The Alpha accepts the wrench the Beta hands them.

"Want to talk to you about something from the other day." Merle rest his crossed arms on the hood of the car and watches Rick check the oil. "After we brought the group home from Woodbury, you were telling me about your brother studying wolves and their rankings and how it incorporates into the Lycan Pack systems."

"Yeah?"

"When we started talking about Daryl and the pups, you were forcing yourself not to purr. Why do you suppress your Alpha instincts? Don't you know how much damage you're putting your mind and body through?" Merle looked worried.

"Lori didn't really want to be with me." Rick lower his voice, looking around for his pups. "And none of this get back to Carl."

At Merle's nod the Alpha sighs, "She was experimenting; wanted to know what it was like to be fucked by an Alpha in rut. She went to Shane first, and he left a lot of marks and bruises. Then when he refused to keep being her on call fuck buddy, she got wind that I had a crush on her. We went through my first rut together during summer break our junior year and she found out she was expecting Carl by the beginning of senior year. We got Mated and married before she was really showing."

"That sucks." Merle frowns. "So, you've only ever been with Lori and Daryl?"

"Yeah." Rick shrugs, "I know that Daryl's different than Lori, and our Mating will be different too, but after thirteen years of forcing myself to BE a Beta so I didn't lose Carl…."

"You don't know how to be an Alpha." Merle nods.

"No clue." Rick agrees, "I was a late bloomer; didn't present until my sophomore year and had less than a year to get use to my instincts before Lori smothered it."

"We'll help you." Merle tries not to shake when he forces Rick to meet his eyes, hoping the Prime didn't take it as a challenge, "We're a Pack."

Rick smiles and leans his forehead against Merle's with a soft rumble, causing the Beta to relax instantly. "Yeah. Thanks Merle."

Rick goes back to working on the truck and Merle bites his lip. "Before the Governor attack, you said something about Daryl not loving you, but that you'd take what he'll give you for as long as he's willing."

"I remember." Rick stops fiddling under the hood. He looks at the Beta, "Why?"

"What would you do if he decided to stay with you forever?"

"I'd be the happiest Alpha on Earth."

"And if he leaves?"

"Then I'll treasure what he gives me."

"Can I speak freely Alpha?"

"Don't do that." Rick places his hand on the Beta's shoulder and waits for him to meet his eyes. "I'm not that much of an asshole, you have no reason to be that formal with me. We're a Pack yes, but we're also family."

"Ok. I think you're a fucking idiot if you believe for even a second that Daryl would leave you. Especially with those kids in the middle of it."

Rick laughs. "Why would Daryl want me? I know he trust me with his heats and everything, and I'm ecstatic he didn't reject my Bite or try to abort the cub. I know Daryl wouldn't do that even if he didn't want me but… the way I was before… I would have just accepted anything."

"Because I love you." The Alpha and Beta turn to see Daryl standing behind them, glaring at his Mate.

"Daryl-"

"I love you too." Rick smiles sadly. "Too much to try to make you stay with me if you wanted to leave."

"Merle can you take over here?" Daryl storms over to the Alpha and grabs him by his scruff, handing his crossbow over to his brother and then dragging his Mate back into C block. As they pass by the other Pack members, Daryl scowls at the new Woodbury Omegas that blush, bare their necks, and call out to Rick. They knew the man was Mated with two pups but still, he was the Prime and it had been awhile since Daryl and Rick had done anything. Between Daryl's pregnancy while house jumping to battle after battle here at the Prison, the Omega's scent had all but faded from his Mate's skin.

"Glenn!" The Alpha perks up and looks at the Theta, "You're in charge!"

"Got it! Have fun!" The Alpha laughs when Daryl flips him off and Rick lets out a pleased rumble. Glenn had grown so much.

Daryl drags them down to the boiler room, pushing Rick the last few feet while he goes and locks the doors. Rick just stands in the middle of the room, not sure how deal with everything. Once the doors are shut and locked Daryl goes and stands in front of his Alpha. "What the hell was that?"

Rick lowers his eyes. Daryl cradles Rick's hand between his and leads him to one of the corners of the room, sitting him down and dropping into his lap. "Rick, look at me."

Rick glances up at his Mate then shifts his eyes away. Daryl places his hands on either side of the man's head and waits for him to look at him again. "I love you."

"I love you too." Rick meets his eyes.

"Then talk to me. What have I done that makes you think I'm going to leave you."

"Nothing. You've done nothing wrong I promise Daryl. This isn't on you."

Daryl reaches down and bites at Rick's Mark. The Alpha groans and pulls his Omega closer, shifting against him. "This Mark means it is Rick. Your problems are mine and mine are yours."

"This one was Lori's."

"Then we'll just have to fix it for her." Daryl pulls Rick's shirt from his pants and over his head, before taking his own off too. He goes for his own belt and Rick stops him.

"What are you doing?"

"We have new Omega's and they keep…" Daryl clears his throat and looks away.

"I'm yours, Darlin'." Rick laughs pulling the Omega closer, their bare chest flush together. "If you're going to help me learn to act like an Alpha, how bout I encourage you to act like an Omega?"

"Be weak?" Daryl growls.

"Be protective." Rick corrects, "Able to be strong and keep what's yours. It's good for an Omega to want to lay claim to their Mates when other Omegas try to interfere."

"It's good for Alphas to purr when they talk about their Mates and Litters." Daryl counters. Rick swallows but doesn't look away. Daryl purrs and kisses him.

"Lori punished you when you acted like an Alpha, and it suppressed to pass the point of a Beta." The Omega huffs, rolling his hips into Rick's, "So instead, I'll reward you."

"No." Rick growls. "I'm not going to let you use our Mating as a fucking reward system. When we do this, it's because WE want to, not because you feel like-"

"OK." Daryl cuts him off, "Then what do you want as a reward?"

"I shouldn't need one."

"What. Do. You. Want?"

"... Seeds?"

"For the garden, right?" Daryl smiles. "Ok. Seeds, tools, anything I can find."

Rick lets his head fall to Daryl's collar bone. "That was stupid. We'll need those anyway for the Pack."

"But we'll also be helping your instincts to provide for the Pack."

"Ok." They sit there for a minute, before Rick shifts his weight and clears his throat. He lets out a whispered, broken purr, glancing up at his Mate. Daryl run his fingers through Rick's hair and purrs back in encouragement. They sit there for a while, just feeding each other comfort through their bond. Daryl reaches down first and starts removing Rick's pants. Rick kisses Daryl's neck as he reaches for his belt and the two Mates strip each other, laying their clothes on the ground. Rick lets Daryl push him on his back as the Omega kneels above him and breathes in their scents.

"Alright, lesson one on being an Alpha." Daryl smirks and Shifts. His brown wolf was still beautiful and Rick watches as he gets up and lowers his front half to the ground, his tail wagging. He wanted to play?

' _Shift Rick.'_

' _What?'_

' _Shift and fight back.'_ Daryl lunges at his Mate and Rick acts on instinct, Shifting and bouncing out of the way. Daryl follows and lunges again, landing on Rick's back and knocking him to the floor. He lands on his back and bites down on his scruff, the Omegas paws barely touching the ground from his spot onto if his Mate. Rick forces himself to relax and lowers his body to the floor but freezes at the growl he gets from Daryl.

' _Alphas don't submit Rick.'_ Daryl tells him. ' _Fight back.'_

' _You're my Mate. I'll always submit to you.'_ Rick's tail wags. His ears perk up as he catches a new scent and he chuckles, ' _Is it really that arousing for you to produce that much slick outside your heat?'_

' _Shut up asshole.'_ Daryl grunts, secretly pleased. ' _It's also a turn on for you to act like an Alpha. Like when you Chased me, remember?'_

Rick rumbles and rolls his body, forcing Daryl off him. He chases the Omega around the room, pouncing on the Theta and holding him down. Daryl purrs and rubs against Rick's neck, trying to wiggle his way out from underneath him. When Rick bites down on Daryl's scruff and positions himself at the Omega's entrance, he waits for a signal. Daryl bucks against him and the Alpha slides in, taking a deep breath and letting go; letting his wolf take over. A low growl and then he's thrusting into his Mate, hard and fast.

Daryl whines at the pressure and pants. It had been so long; he needed this, needed his Alpha's scent on him. He flicks his tail up and to the side, pushing back into his Mate's thrust. Rick growls his approval and loosens his grip on the Omega's scruff, focusing more on bringing his Mate to orgasm. Daryl smiles when he notices how much Rick was enjoying letting go and acting like an Alpha. He licks his muzzle and Shifts slowly, the pressure of Rick's dick inside of him growing as he becomes more and more human until he notices it expanding his stomach slightly. He throws his head back and groans, clinching down. When the Alpha notices Daryl's human form on his cock he yelps and starts shifting as well.

"Shit Rick." Daryl pants, "Stop."

Rick freezes and pulls out, causing his Mate to whine at the emptiness, before shifting to his human form as well, "Daryl! What the fuck?"

"Sorry. Just an idea I wanted to try…. Saw it in a movie from Before and well..." Daryl was still panting.

Rick wipes the sweat from his brow and nuzzles his Mark with a chuckle. "Next time let me know beforehand, ok? I thought I hurt you."

"That was a little too intense." Daryl hums, eyes closed. "If we do that again, we'll need to build up to that."

"Next time huh?" Rick laughs. Daryl smiles and feels more slick puddle under them. He bites his lip and squirms in Rick's hold. Rick turns him around so he can look at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Daryl murmurs, rubbing his hands on Rick's neck.

The Alpha goes to ask him again when he catches a scent that has his eyes rolling back with a loud groan. Daryl was rubbing his slick into Rick's neck; an Omega's way of claiming their Alpha against other Omegas. To know that he'd be smelling like his Mate so thoroughly had Rick pulling Daryl closer to him and thrusting back into him, a steady pace from the get go. Daryl purrs but continues to rub the clear liquid into Rick's neck, chest and back. He squirms so more leaks from his hole, covering Rick's cock and thighs too.

Daryl takes a whiff of his Alpha and smirks, ' _Let's see those Omegas try something with his Mate now.'_

"Fuck that's hot." Rick pants into his ear, "Your Omega instincts make you pretty possessive huh?"

Daryl blushes when he realizes that Rick knew why he was covering him in his scent, but he purrs his agreement. Rick groans, locking inside his Mate with his knot. He grins down at Daryl and kisses him. "When my knot goes down, I'll return the favor."

Daryl pushes Rick's face away from his with a snort, even as his toes curl in pleasure.

…..

Merle had already finished under the hood of the truck and was helping Glenn load up the cars when Morgan comes up to him, asking where the Prime was.

"My guess is that Daryl's taken him somewhere to fuck any doubts he has about their Mating out of his system." Morgan laughs and grabs the box of tools, walking with his Mate back inside C block.

"Well the Lord knows Rick needs it sometimes." Merle nods in agreement. They set their supplies down and head over to Glenn to get their assignments.

"Alright, first thing we need to do is reinforce the fences and get the gate back up in working condition." The Alpha was looking at the map, "Any ideas?"

"I got one for the fences." Duane raises his hand. "The front of the prison is where the main breach is, the red zone. If we take a car and drive around we can collect the fallen bricks, find some cement at the hardware stores in town and build it up from the inside."

"A brick wall on the inside of the fences isn't a bad idea." Morgan looks at the map, "Especially if we start getting a lot of Walkers piling up or trying to climb it. But we still need to be able to keep guard and with some of the towers out of commission we'll need to walk the fence. Depending on how high we make these brick walls, we'll also need to make areas for us do our patrols."

"What if we build the wall only halfway up the fence?" Carl suggests, "Make like a balcony for us to walk across to do patrols with enough room to duck behind if we get another shootout. Make columns under it for support, an overhang up top to protect against the sun and stuff. Line the fences, it will offer enough support if they start to pile up and when the fence starts to rust if we're here for it, we'll still have some decent walls."

"I like that idea, but we have to know it will actually work." Glenn says, "And if we can't find enough bricks? What areas are we going to prioritize over others?"

"Prioritize the fences around the gate." Sophia speaks up. "We'll start on the fence between the two broken towers next to the gate. As we find more bricks we'll circle around but with that fence being the closest to the road it's also the fence with the most Walkers. It needs to be first priority if we're doing this."

"And finding bricks shouldn't be too bad." Duane adds, "Between the front of the prison, hardware stores and the abandoned houses literally everywhere, we have all we need. The problem is finding cement to bind the bricks."

"Alright." Maggie steps up. "We need to find maps and start labeling them with stores and places we can raid for supplies. Mark farms for livestock that might still be around and we'll see if we can trap more animals too. The rabbits and other stuff we got from King's will only go so far later. I want a team to go out and start looking for cement, as much of it as you can find. At the very least we can use it to help fill in holes in the towers and cell blocks. Another team's going to the front of the prison but be careful. Take the truck and the gate that Woodbury took out and some bungie's, try to patch the hole as much as we can right now and then load up as many bricks as the truck will hold."

The Pack splits up and starts getting everything they need ready for their different tasks. Beth watches from Daryl's nest and keeps an eye on the other Omegas that weren't really doing anything but reading at a table that had been set up in C block. The pregnant ones she could understand not helping out, but the others could at least be helping the Pack get supplies together. She realizes how much she was used to seeing the Pack Omegas put in to helping around here. Even before the dead started walking she helped her family on the farm with the chores, so seeing these Omegas just… being in the way and not even helping with the cooking was enough to make her angry.

Reedus coos from his spot on the bed and Beth grabs a bottle, sitting down to feed him. At least she was helping with the pups; she was helping her Luna and Theta take care of Reedus and Hunter because she knows that Daryl wasn't really the typical Omega type. She knew that he likes to be out there with the others, going on runs and protecting the fences, hunting and teaching the others how to provide. It wasn't like him to stay in the Nest waiting for the cubs to need to be fed of changed. He was trusting this to her as a Lambda, something that had been a recent development with the Woodbury Omega's coming to stay with them. Two Lambdas to help with at least five or more cubs was a good job; especially since Carol was also an Elder and had to keep peace and everyone in order. At least she was contributing to the Pack by taking care of their youngest members.

While Reedus eats his fill from the bottle, Hunter tries to entertain herself. After so many times trying to catch her tail and rolling around she puts her paws on Beth's leg and lets out little barks, wanting the older Omega's attention. Reedus starts to giggle and Beth set him down with his cousin to play, smiling fondly at them.

"Aw they're so cute." Hands reach under Hunter and lift her off the bed, causing her to yelp. One of the older women from Woodbury, a mother of one of the other Omegas, holds the cub up under her armpits bringing her closer to rub their noses together and then holding her out again. Hunter had yet to be introduced to the Woodbury Omegas so having one suddenly in her face, a scent she didn't know taking her away from two Packmates, she did something that surprised Beth. She growls; bares her teeth and bites the woman's nose when she tries to rub them together again.

"OW!" The woman holds the pup away from her, glaring at Hunter. The pup returns the glare. "Bad dog, bad puppy dog."

Beth scowls and takes Hunter from the woman, pushing her out of the Nest. "Don't talk to her like she's a fucking animal."

Hunter Shifts into her human forms and shakes her hands at the woman with a screech, glaring at her and baring her small gums the way she did in her Lycan form. Reedus whimpers from the bed. The woman looks at the baby, shocked, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had infants, I thought they were just puppies. In Woodbury the soldiers that went out sometimes brought back puppies or kittens for the children. I thought they had to be older to Shift."

"Not when they're Wolf borne." Beth scowls, "And you should know better to come into a Nest with cubs when they don't know you. Especially Daryl's nest and pick up HIS daughter."

"Daryl?"

"The crossbow wielding Theta that's Mated to the Prime, Rick. Which also makes him our Luna." Beth rolls her eyes when the woman stiffens with a small "Oh."

The woman scowls, "I doubt the Prime would limit himself to just one Omega when there are so many here for him to choose from. Humans are an endangered species now and everyone should do their part. Besides, all the Nest are open for anyone to go into, meaning you have no right to tell me I'm wrong for going into the cell."

"Your one of the Trad's, aren't you?" Merle was coming up the stairs, voice raised to be heard by everyone. The whole Pack had stopped and was gathering in the cell block to see what was going on. "Well lady we're not Woodbury, the Nest here are private and you need the Omega's permission before you enter it. Not mine, not the Prime's, DARYL'S permission. So, you crossed a line just going in there and picking those pups up like you have any right to even see them. There's a reason they haven't been introduced to any of the Woodbury Omega's yet and that's cause you all haven't been scented by the Prime yet. Ya'll don't share the Pack bond yet, and after the shit you just pulled I think you'll be lucky if them pups acknowledge any of you as Pack. Great job fucking shit up for the rest of them there."

"I don't think that-"

"You don't think at all apparently." Merle takes Hunter from Beth so she can go comfort Reedus. "The Omega's ain't shared here either, so yer little shit story about Rick needing to fuck multiple Omegas cause we're an endangered species… I think yer lucky Rick and Daryl weren't here to hear that or you'd be dead, and the other Woodbury Omegas would be given a car and sent on their way."

"They can't do that!"

"They're the Primes." Morgan speaks up. "They can if they want to. And this place is New-School, you'll remember that next time you want to act like queen bitch here. Since you and the others are going to be in this cell block during the day instead of your own, but you're also going to refuse to help us with our chores, the least you can do is sit at your table and stay out of our way."

The woman keeps her eyes on the ground as she goes down the stairs and hurries over to the Omegas at the table. Merle hands Hunter back to Beth who puts her on the bed to play with Reedus some more. "Keep an eye on them; one of them tries to come up here again, Howl. And Beth… good job."

"Thanks Merle." The Omega watches the Beta and his Mate head back over to their task with a smile. Yeah, at least she was doing her part to help the Pack.


	15. Pulling Rank

When Rick and Daryl finally emerge from the boiler room later that night, the tunnels and cell block stink of their merged scent. The Theta blushes lightly but walks right up to the Pack ready for any jokes they might make, Rick following close behind with a pleased rumble.

"Glad you two decided to join us." Hershel smiles from his spot at the table. "The others made some plans you might want to look at for supply runs and fixing the fences, but first eat. Y'all need it."

"Thank you." Rick smiles back at the Elder and grabs two bowls of stew, taking it over to his Mate. He sets in down slowly, watching for any sign that Daryl wasn't happy that the Alpha had made the food decision for him. The Omega purrs and starts eating and the Alpha relaxes, sitting down with him and pulling the pile of papers with the plans for the fences towards them, laying them between the two men to read over while they eat. Merle laughs when he comes in and sees them, so Daryl flips him off.

"Anything happen while we were busy?" Rick asks in amusement.

"Well…" Merle bites his lip which has both males tensing in anticipation. "There was an incident with those Omegas from Woodbury. One of them went into the Nest and picked up Hunter. Beth was there to put her in her place, but she said some stuff to her that got Beth kinda…"

"Are they ok?" Daryl was up and walking to the Nest as he asks, Merle and Rick following close behind him.

"Hunter growled and tried to bite her but they're both ok. Me and Morgan tried to handle it as best as we could, but I wanted to at least inform you guys since you're in charge."

Daryl enters the Nest and Scents Beth before turning to the pups. "Did she touch Reedus too?"

"No." Beth answers, already knowing what they were talking about. "I'm sorry. I didn't even hear her enter the room."

"Not your fault." Daryl sniffs his daughter to get the scent of the one that touched her. He smiles when she coos, nudging him with her snout, and he nudges her back with his finger with a chuff. Rick watches with a smile and forces a purr, relaxing when Daryl smiles at him and purrs louder. He looks at the table of Woodbury Omegas.

"How do you want to handle this?" Daryl walks over to the railing and focuses his sense of smell, finding the older woman that broke Pack rules. Holding out his hand he waits for Rick to hand him his hunting knife before he makes his way to the stairs. He pauses a few times to say hi and scent his Pack.

Rick watches from the second floor, Hunter in his arms and Carl coming to a stop next to him. Sophia stops next to Merle with Duane who was holding his younger brother. Everyone stops to watch as Daryl approaches the table and only Beth flinches when the Omega kicks the table into the wall, grabs the woman-who-picked-up-Hunter's book and stabs it into the table, leaving it there to vibrate from the force. At this point he's got all the Omegas attention as well as the rest of the Pack.

"The only reason that blade is in the table instead of your hand is because your pregnant Omegan son is about to piss himself next to you and the stress could cause him to abort the baby." Daryl's voice is calm and sounds like he had been eating gravel, but each word rings through the silent cell block with force.

The older woman swallows but says nothing and Daryl leans down to catch her eye. "I catch any of you near my Nest again, every last one of you will be on the road. You so much as look at my pup or Reedus again and I'll lock all of you in the other cell block. You want to stay here and be a part of this Pack, guess what? I'M the Theta, I'M in charge of every last pup and Omega on this territory. Do not cross me again."

Daryl stands up and pulls the knife from the table, the weak cardboard and thin wood splitting in half and the table falls apart at their feet. The Theta puts his knife in its holster on his thigh and picks up the book he stabbed, handing it back to the woman that takes it with shaking hands. "I'm letting you off with a warning, because you haven't been here long and I've yet to sit you all down and explain the rules. That changes tomorrow, same as your chores. Sitting here reading is find for the ones that will be giving birth soon, but the others have no excuse."

"You can't make us do that." A perky little Omega with a bob huffs, her stomach barely extended with her pup.

"You want to challenge me?" Daryl growls, pulling the knives from his boot and the holster on his thigh and grabs her hand, placing one of the handles in her palm and closing her fingers around it. "Want to try and become the Theta so you can make the rules?"

The Omega shakes her head, tears in her eyes as she lowers her gaze. "We're Omegas, we can't fight."

"I was in Woodbury fighting to save my Pack days after giving birth." Daryl puts his knives away again, "I spent the winter hunting and killing Walkers while I was pregnant to protect my family. That was my choice though, and I don't expect it from all of you. But I do expect you to pull your own weight. Tomorrow we start you all on basic chores; any of you want to do something specific can come talk to me, Carol, anyone here. I'd suggest getting back to your cell block and getting some sleep while it's night; the Walkers in the tunnels are quiet when the sun goes down. You all need your rest."

Daryl walks away, heading for the stairs. The woman from before speaks up, "Would you really kick us out?"

Daryl turns around. "There's only two from Woodbury that are guaranteed a place here; Patrick and Evan because they fought to stay and proved to us they deserve to be here. The rest of you better earn your place too."

…..

The next morning was eventful. Daryl had all of the Omegas and people from Woodbury on the fences, even the seven-year-old Elder Mika. The rest of the Pack were splitting up to make runs into town to maps out locations for supplies or were heading to the front of the prison to try and bring back bricks to start on the walls. The only one not doing anything was Hershel, who sat out in the field testing the different types of soil to see which crops would go where. The two cubs were napping in a playpen with an umbrella for shade, not too far away from Daryl.

Sophia, Beth, Carol, Patrick, and Even were walking the larger parts of the fence and killing Walkers as they piled up while Daryl kept all the Woodbury people in the smaller fenced in area and was trying to teach them how to pop them through the fence.

"This is hard!" One of the Beta mothers complains, "And dangerous! Shouldn't the Alphas or Betas be doing this?"

"Sometimes they do but I gave them the day off, so you could learn." Daryl shoves his knife into the skull of a Walker and ignore the shriek he gets when some of the blood gets on the Beta's shirt. "They'll be back at noon to relieve us for food. Then we're heading up to Glenn to collect bricks while the others go inside to get the inside chores done and take care of the pups."

"Why couldn't we be inside doing those chores?" Another Omega demands.

"Because this is a big part of living here." Mika replies. She was standing on a chair they found so she was tall enough to get their heads. She doesn't really flinch when another comes at her and rattles the fence, although Daryl can still hear the whine of fear she lets out as she drives her pipe into its eye, "The fences have to stay clear of Walkers, so they stay up. If the fences go down then we lose this cell block and field, meaning we're on the road again and with two cubs and anywhere between seven and ten more on the way…"

She leaves it at that and takes out another one, using her shirt sleeve to clean the blood off her face. Daryl smiles and takes the pipe from her. "Go help Hershel. His leg's going to start bothering him if he has to keep bending down to get to the dirt, and it's going to be difficult for him to write down the information he'll need later."

"Yes sir." Mika gets down from the chair and heads out into the field to help her fellow Elder. Daryl scowls when the other Omegas try to stop and leave too.

"You want to stay, follow the rules." Daryl grabs Mika's pipe and thrusts it into a Walker's head. "Keep going, or you'll lose the right to eat later."

….

That night none of the Omegas read their books while they ate, too busy trying to scarf down their food as fast as they could. After Mika had gone to help Hershel the other Omegas lost their rights to lunch by refusing to keep taking out Walkers. Daryl loaded them into one of the trucks and took them straight to the front to grab bricks and they stayed there until the sun started to set.

Daryl walks around their table and keeps all of them from choking while he eats his own fill, trading out with Carol when he has to feed the pups before bed. When it finally gets late enough, Carol and Beth help Hershel and Bob escort the Woodbury Omegas to their cell block. The Elder wanted to check on the status of their pregnancies to see who would be Nesting soon. The Theta watches them leave with a sense of pride; the Omegas would be fine once they lost their Before world attitude. Their Beta mothers though… He might just have to learn to put up with them. Seeing his Mate talking with the older pups in the second floor with his daughter fast asleep against her big brother, Daryl goes upstairs and pulls Hunter into his arms.

Carl, Sophia and Duane smile and scent him before heading to their cells. The others were getting ready for watch or for bed. Rick follows his Mate into their nest and watches him put their daughter in her crib before pulling to the Omega to him with a purr. "I love watching you care for her. You're so beautiful."

"Ain't some girl, don't want ya callin' me beautiful and shit." Daryl gasps at the sudden movement, then laughs when Rick pulls him into a kiss, his tongue demanding entrance. He pulls back when one of the Woodbury Omegas come back with Bob and Hershel and they lead her down to the boiler room, which had turned into the Pack's Den. She had started Nesting then, and soon there will be another cub to watch for. Rick smiles at seeing his Mate's attention on the door; the Theta wanted to go help.

"Another turn on." The Alpha pants against Daryl's Mating mark, "Definitely you pulling rank. Thought I was gonna have to knot my fist in front of everyone these last two days."

"Rick." Daryl snorts. The Alpha just laughs and lays down on their bed, pulling his Mate into his arms and breathing him in.

"I'm glad you're ok." He whispers, "Everything's happening so fast; I thought you were dead after Andrew and then I get you back just as all this shit with Woodbury started. I feel like I haven't spent any time with you and our kids lately. Hunter growled at me earlier when I went to pick her up and Beth had to calm her down enough for me to hold her."

Daryl can feel the tears on the back of his neck and he turns around, holding Rick as the Alpha cries. "My daughter doesn't recognize me, the others haven't been able to recover from one battle before being tossed into the next, I haven't talked to Carl or the other pups to see how they've been handling things and I…I feel like I'm a terrible father and an even worse Prime. How could they keep following me when all I-?"

"Hang on." Daryl gets up and pulls Hunter out of her crib and into his arms before laying down next to Rick again. He pulls Rick's hand away from his face and rest it on the cub's head. "Hunter knows you just fine. She loves you, and the others are all dealing with stuff differently. Hell, I don't really know anything about Carl, haven't really talked to him lately about anything that didn't involve going on runs or Woodbury. Does that make a bad father to him?"

"No." Rick tucks his head under Daryl's chin and rubs Hunter's back.

"Are you seeing my point though?"

"Were you trying to make one?" Rick laughs. Daryl smiles and pulls Rick into a sweet kiss, causing the Alpha to hum.

"I love you." Daryl smiles at the Alpha.

"I love you too." Rick leans down and rest their foreheads together. "I'm in love with you and it terrifies me."

"Me too." Daryl grunts. "And while I love you this bed was not made for two and you're heavy. Get off."

Rick stands up with a laugh and takes Hunter, cradling her to his chest. Daryl takes the two mattresses off the beds and moves them to the floor, dragging all the blankets and their clothes to the center of the new Nest and setting it up as he wants it. When he's satisfied he shifts and lays down, head nestled between one of Rick's shirts and his leather jacket with the angel wings. Rick sets Hunter down between them and shifts as well, just about to curl up when he hears a shuffling at the door. Carl stands there with some of his clothes and the sheriff hat, waiting to be allowed entrance.

"You never have to ask pup." Daryl sends to him, moving over to make room for his son. Carl smiles in relief and adds his stuff to the pile, waiting for Daryl to move it as he wants before shifting and laying down. Rick lets their pups settle in before laying down as well, his head resting on his paws and an ear pointed at the door just in case. Seeing his Mate grooming Carl while the younger Alpha noses Hunter towards the front where all three of them can keep an eye on her, warms the Alpha in a way that watching Lori dealing with Carl as a cub never did. Rick purrs, loud and unashamed of how well his Alpha was showing his pride in his family. Carl looks up in surprise, his tail beating against the bedding and whining as he rubs against Rick's side.

"I've never really heard you purr out loud before dad." Carl licks Rick's cheek and sends his love and happiness to him, causing Rick to purr louder. Carl joins in, and Daryl wait until both of his pups were groomed before he does the same. Rick can hear some of the other Pack members purring out in their sleep too. Rick closes his eyes and just lets everything fade from his mind as he starts to fall asleep.

A wet tongue against his nose wakes him back up, his eyes meeting Hunter's blue ones. The little cub was using Rick's face to balance herself on her hind legs. Rick sends a wave of love to her and she coos, licking his nose again with her tiny tongue. Rick purrs again and the cub turns her head at him, ears pointed forward meaning all her attention was on her dad. Daryl and Carl watch them quietly with pointed ears and wagging tails. Rick purrs again and Hunter turns her head the other way before she makes a sound like she was trying to bark. Unhappy with the noise she sneezes and tries again, the sound coming out like a small rumble. Rick's ears perk up and he purrs again, sending love and pure happiness to his daughter. Hunter perks up too and lets out a squeal before purring back at her dad.

Rick barks, sending vibrations through the whole cell block and causing a few heads to perk up, wondering what was going on. Merle shows up in the doorway, seeing Rick focused on Hunter and purring at her; his tail hitting the bed frame hard enough to put dents in it when she purrs back at him. The Beta smiles at the little family bonding moment and turns to shake his head at the rest of the Pack who were sticking their heads out of their cells to show that it wasn't a big deal. He goes back to his cell and pushes Morgan's grinning face back into their room, the two men curling around their own pups.

Rick ends up falling asleep with Hunter's body resting against his cheek, each of her small purrs vibrating the skin. Carl curls up next to his dad and sister, sleeping with his head on Hunter's back. It's at time like this when Daryl wishes he had found a camera, to capture moments like this to look back on with his family. He lays his head on top of Carl's and Rick's necks, feeling them breath with his whole body. One paw lays on Hunter's back and raises and falls with each of her own breaths, making Daryl sigh in relief. He loves his family, and he'd be forever grateful that they were with him.


	16. The Three Questions

**IM NOT DEAD!**

 **Sorry, I haven't been updating lately but as we get further into the series I have to watch the season we're going into to make sure that I'm staying on track. Going back and watching season four and with the** way **the newer seasons have ended up being...**

 **I am SO glad that I'm going off track ya know? lol.**

 **We have a few more chapters left in this book before we start the next one, so here we go!**

 **...**

"You want to go hunting with Daryl?" Rick looks at his Mate over Evan's head. The Theta shrugs his acceptance as he shows Sophia how to put quiver over her shoulder without spilling the arrows. Rick turns back to the younger Omega. "I'll ask your mother; head over to Daryl so he can get you fitted for a holster."

"I don't know if my mom will let me go." He mutters, "She doesn't think Omegas should be doing manual labor."

"You want to help the Pack, she can't tell you no," Daryl speaks up. "Rick and I make the rules. We're asking yer ma 'cause it's polite, not cause we need her permission."

"Ok." Evan smiles and watches as Sophia shows him how to put the holster on his belt. Rick goes to grab Hunter from Beth and brings her to Daryl for another feeding before they head out. Rick was heading to the front of the prison for more bricks while Daryl was taking a group out to the woods to show them how to make traps and hunt. Maggie and Carol were going out with a map they'd found earlier that week to mark different store and warehouses for supplies while Glenn and T-Dog were heading into town with a truck to get cement for the walls. Everyone else was taking the time to cut the grass out in the field and turn the soil so Hershel could mark which crops could go where. Everyone had a job to do, even the Woodbury Omegas.

Because Daryl's group wasn't going too far from the fences, he would carry one walkie-talkie and Hershel had the other so they would know if anything came up. Rick sends them off with a pat on the pups shoulders and a kiss to his Mate's neck before he got in the truck and headed to the front of the prison with Merle, Morgan, Sasha, and Bob. The group worked in two pairs; two would pile bricks into the truck bed, and two would watch the fence and the prison entrance for Walkers, the last one would keep the truck running and keep an ear out for the CB in case of emergencies, or to give someone else a break as needed. By the time everyone else was back inside the fences from their runs, Rick's group had brought enough bricks to finish the first test wall.

Glenn, Maggie, and Daryl all came back with something for the prison. Glenn had found a hardware store with plenty of cement and other supplies they'd need later for the garden. Maggie and Carol had found a couple of warehouses that would be of use, including a couple of Amazons, Walmarts, and Rexx Medicines. They even marked a path to the FedEx and UPS stores and warehouses. Rick made a mental note to have a group go out and search for any other places they might need to make runs to, and mark them on the map.

"Hey, Rick." Daryl pulls his Mate off to the side, "I don't want to get the kids hopes up or nothing, but I found some tracks earlier while huntin'... some canine prints, to small to be a wolf. Might be a coyote or a dog. Maybe we can set up some pins on the areas that Hershel doesn't think we can farm, and have some animals."

"I think that would be great." Rick rumbles with a smile. He inches closer, waiting for Daryl's huff before scenting the Omega, "I'll talk to Glenn about getting some wood and fencing to start one tomorrow when they go back for more cement."

"Alright." Daryl adjusts the crossbow on his shoulder, looking over the Alpha's shoulder to Sophia who was trying to watch Merle gut the squirrels they brought back, "How's everything here."

"We lost two while ya'll were out." Rick sighs, "The one Beta that invaded the nest and her daughter. Left this morning, said they'd take their chances."

"Fucking bitch is going to get them killed." The Omega huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. Daryl winces and shifts his weight.

Not smelling an injury on the other man, Rick bares his teeth in a grin. "You ok?"

"Shut the fuck up." Daryl pushes the Alpha's face away, scowling. Rick laughs and reaches out, squeezing his Mate's shoulder. Scenting his hand, the Omega leaves to help Glenn with their start on the wall.

….

The next morning had the Pack split into two groups; one was on the wall, killing Walkers and laying bricks, and the other was helping Hershel plow and pick seeds packets from the garbage bag full of them they'd been gathering for the last week with runs. Glenn and Maggie were inside with the pups while updating the map. They had gone on a run that morning and ran into someone from the Woodbury community, who told them that the Governor had shown back up with a Herd and torn down the gate. They let him go and went to check it out, finding the gate wide open, and a few buildings still smoking were it looked like homes had been set on fire, and the whole place deserted.

Taking one of the feeder trucks they loaded what they could salvage to make everything more comfortable at the prison. Tables, mattresses, pillows, sheets and blankets, all the food and medicine they could find, ALL of the generators, medical equipment, dishes, even some couches and chairs that they could lift between the two of them. It was in one of the trucks that they found the map. It was labeled with farms, stores, warehouses, a food plants, military bases; all highlighted in different colors, even the roads to get to them, some marked out and some circled. The car also had a notebook with a key for all the different colors and an inventory of what was still useful in those buildings. Everything that Woodbury had been using since the start to keep running like a normal neighborhood. Glenn had taken both of them and moved them into THEIR car, no way in hell were they leaving a goldmine like that where anyone else could take it.

Deciding that they needed to check out some of the surrounding homes for plants and supplies to make enclosures for any animals they might find and bring back to the Pack, Glenn grabs Tara and makes another run. They take two of the trucks and put laundry baskets in the beds, going to houses and looking for gardens, wood, fences, and tools. Any plants they could find that would be of use went into the baskets in one truck and everything else went into the other one. It was outside of an apartment complex that they found the herd; a small one, but enough to get overwhelmed. Out of ammo, and with Glenn unconscious from a blow to the head, Tara reaches out with the Pack bond to get backup.

" _Rick!"_

" _Tara? What happened?"_ The Prime growls _._

" _Herd. Glenn got winded and is unresponsive."_ The female Alpha checks for a pulse and any sign that the Walkers had broken skin. " _He's ok and clean, but he took a blow to the head getting out. We pulled over on the road about a mile from the prison, but I can't lift him out of the driver's seat or get both trucks back. I need you to send someone out here to help me."_

" _Five minutes."_ Rick sends her a calming rumble, " _Me and Daryl are on our way."_

" _Ok."_ A branch snaps and Tara looks up, growling at the Walkers that stumble out of the woods. Grabbing her knife she kills the first couple with little struggle, darting around them to keep them out of reach and away from Glenn. Grabbing the last one when it gets too close to the truck, she pulls it away and uses the butt of the gun to smash its head in, barely aware of the sound of a vehicle approaching. Throwing the gun to the ground once the head was destroyed she wipes her brow, smearing blood on her face and turns to the truck as the engine cuts off. Placing herself between the truck and her unconcious Packmate, Tara snarls, "Hope you enjoyed the show assholes!"

" _Rick!"_ She yells over the bond as two men and a woman step out of the truck, two of them in military like clothing, " _A group showed up and Glenn's still out, HURRY!"_

Tara feels Rick and Daryl's worry and feel them getting closer, more Pack members following behind them. In front of her, a male with ginger hair and a handlebar mustache, and the woman, stop in front of Tara with a colt M4A1 each. Another man stay behind them with a mullet and a walkie talkie, staring at the Walker Tara just killed in absolute horror, as if it was going to get back up and attack him again.

"You got a damn mouth on ya, you know that?" The ginger, the group's Prime by the smell of him, uses his gun to gesture to the truck behind Tara. "What else you got?"

Tara pulls the glock from her waist band and points it at the Alpha, moving to hide Glenn from view. "Nothing that concerns you, Pippi Longstockings."

The Alpha growls, eyes flashing as he takes a step forward. Tara fires a warning shot at his feet, the sound echoing, and causing the woman's gun to raise to the female Alpha's head. Rick's growl in her head has her sending reassuring to him, and Tara can feel the Pack start to circle around them. She keeps the groups focus on her as wolves cross the road a few miles behind the new people's truck. Once everyone was in position, she ask Rick to hold until she needed them, not wanting to let them to know how many they were up against just yet. Behind her, Glenn groans, calling out to her weakly.

"I'm right here Glenn." She tells him, watching as the Alpha in front of her switches his gaze from her to the truck behind her with understanding, the growl fading back into his chest. He motions for the woman to lower her weapon.

"What's going on?" Glenn lets out a warning rumble as he catches sight of the three new people and Tara's stance, "Who the hell-?"

"Glenn stay still!" Tara risk glancing back as the male tries to get out of the seat, "You hurt your head earlier, escaping the herd."

"Ya'll part of a Pack, I can smell it. How many you got?" The Alpha takes a step towards Tara again and Rick breaks cover.

He steps out of the woods holding a rifle and first aid kit, Maggie in wolf form by his side. "To many for you to handle."

Maggie bares her teeth at the ginger and his Pack, hackles raised as she makes her way to Glenn. Letting her Mate use her as a brace to get out of the truck while Tara and Rick focus on the other Pack. Glenn sits down and Maggie shifts back, taking the kit from Rick and cleaning the blood from his head, glaring at the newcomers as if daring them to try something.

"How's he lookin'?" Rick asks her.

"He'll be fine." Glenn mumbles, "He can still talk too. And hear."

"Well then hear this." Maggie turns her glare on her Mate, "I thought I told you to be careful. What happened?"

"Nothing, just fell while we were getting away from a herd -20 of them, about a half mile down the road- Tara covered for me and I passed out once the adrenaline faded. I'm fine."

"I'll have a group go out and take a look at the herd later. We don't need them getting to close." Rick turns to the other Prime with a snarl, "Is there a reason you're pointing a gun at one of my injured Packmates?"

"We need people. My name is Sergeant Abraham Ford. These are my companions, Rosita Espinosa and Dr. Eugene Porter." The Prime states.

"Rick Grimes." Rick holds out his hand to Tara and she lowers her gun. "What do you want?"

"Now that your Pack is here, we can all leave. We're behind schedule as it is." Abraham pulls the tailgate to the military truck they were riding in down, and makes his way to the truck with supplies for the prison, as if he was going to load Rick's Pack's stuff in with theirs. Rick points his rifle at the man's head, making him freeze in place.

"Can I help you with something?" Rick growls, "Cause there seems to be a misunderstanding if you think my Pack is going anywhere with yours. Or our stuff."

"You people seem to not be paying close enough attention to the hell hole we've been living in so let me break it down for you." Abraham growls back, pushing his forehead against the barrel of Rick's gun. "You find some strong, like-minded people and you stick together like wet on water. We need people; the more, the better. We need each other; what's in that truck won't last ya'll a week. Not by yourselves."

"We'll take our chances." Rick cocks the gun, the male with the mullet whimpers and the woman fingers the trigger on her's pointed at Rick.

"I'm going to have to insist that you hold the hell up." The Alpha pushes Rick's gun away from him. Rick's Pack sees him and knows the only reason he was able to was because Rick allowed him to, wanting to hear the other Alpha explain himself while putting up the front of being a threat. Abraham continues, ignorant of the fact that he was doing what Rick wanted him to, "Believe it or not, the fate of the damned human race depends on it."

"Explain?" Rick lowers the gun to the Alpha's chest.

"I'm afraid I don't have the time to-"

"You'll make time." Eugene yelps at the voice behind him, turning around to find Daryl's crossbow set between his eyes. Abraham's gun goes up to point at Daryl, and Rick moves closer, pointing his own right against the Alpha's temple with his finger on the trigger. He can see Rosita's gun pointed at him with Tara, Maggie, and Glenn pointing theirs at her. Around them, Rick's Pack comes out of the woods in wolf form, 12 of them all growling at the three. Abraham swears when he does a head count; Rick's Pack totaling out at 17 to their 3.

"I'd suggest you stop pointing your gun at our Theta." Tara smirks, "A Pack can get real protective over the Prime's Mate."

Abraham swears again, dropping his gun and barking at Rosita to lower her's too. "We're on a time sensitive mission to get Eugene to D.C. He's a scientist… and he knows exactly what caused this mess."

"The hell?" Daryl removes his crossbow and walks over to Rick, keeping an eye on Abraham. When Tara and Rick lower their weapons the three move together, Eugene between Abraham and Rosita, like they were protecting him. Rick's Pack shift back into their human forms, staying in a circle around the small Pack, guns ready but pointed down. Eugene watches them with wonder. Carl makes his way over to his fathers, scenting them, while Sophia and Duane follow behind him.

Rick scents the three pups and then turns to Abraham, the Alpha watching the three younger Pack members with sorrow. Rick files that away for later. "So what happened?"

"It's classified." Eugene speaks up for the first time. "Can I ask how you are all able to shift? To find a group of so many individuals that can with the rarity of-"

"No you can't." Merle points the knife on his prosthetic at them, "It's classified."

The Pack snickers at the looks they give the knife. Rick rumbles sending out a message over the bond to get Glenn and the trucks back to the prison. Maggie and Glenn climb into the back with the pups in one of their trucks while Tara and Bob hop in the driver and passenger seats. Michonne, Andrea, Merle and Morgan plant their feet while the others chase the truck back to their home, the pups laughing the until they were out of earshot.

"You and your's can get back in your truck and be on your way." Rick tells the other Prime. "But we will not be joining you."

"I don't think you have much of a choice," Rosita scowls, "we need to get him to D.C. and it's not like your Pack has anywhere to go."

Daryl steps forward, teeth bare, and Rick holds him back. "The hell we don't! Get out of here, before I but an arrow through ya."

"Daryl." Rick rumbles, nodding towards the Walkers coming out of the trees. It was most likely the ones Tara and Glenn had encountered, drawn there by the noise they'd been making. Rick's Pack moves to meet them with Abraham and Rosita, making as little noise as possible to avoid having more come down on them. When they hear the gunfire behind them, they pull out their own, to make it go along faster. Abraham and Rosita run back to Eugene who was holding the gun awkwardly, like he'd never held one before, and shooting Walkers in the chest without aiming. After helping the others take out the ones that had sneaked up on them, Abraham storms over to the man and yanks the gun away from him, putting the safety back on and swearing when he sees the holes in the gas tank on their truck, Eugene's bullets having hit it when he had turned around, still firing.

"Goddamn son of a dick." He kicks the tire. They wait for the gas to drain completely before Abraham climbs under to look at the damage. He tells them a story from when he was in the military and they had come across a camel stuffed with explosives. "We were within 20 feet of the blast that sent that camel's hump half a klick into the desert. And we drove home. So you tell me how in the holy hell you managed to kill this truck?"

Eugene clears his throat and looks anywhere except the Alpha glaring at him, "A fully amped-up state and an ignorance of a rapid fire weapon. My apologies."

"Sorry about your ride." Merle hops into the bed of their other truck while Morgan apologies and hands the gun he'd borrowed back to Rosita. "I hope you all make it to D.C."

Rick and Daryl exchange a look. Michonne sees it from where she's helping Andrea into the bed of the truck with the others and scowls. "You two can't be serious."

"Whatcha mean?" Daryl grunts.

"Taking them back with us?" Michonne waves in Eugene's direction, "They're a liability. That man didn't put down a single Walker, and couldn't even hold his gun right. He didn't even aim at their heads, like he's never shot one before. How many Walkers have you killed?"

The man doesn't meet her eye. When she ask the other two the same question, they can't give her an answer because they hadn't been keeping count. Rosita steps forward too, "I don't know if I'd feel comfortable going either. Your Prime didn't flinch when he cocked that gun at Abraham's head, like he's killed living people before. How many have you killed?"

"Seven." Rick answers without a beat.

"Four." Daryl grunts.

"Six." Michonne rest one hand on the handle of her katana.

"Three." Merle shrugs.

"None." Andrea.

"One." Morgan says.

Rosita looks disturbed by the numbers. "How could you kill people? Living people?"

"Because they either were dying and asked us to, or they put our families in danger." Rick rumbles, "We've done mercy killings, and we've protected each other from others that have hurt us. And if need be, we'll do it again."

"I can respect that." Abraham nods. "Protecting your Pack. Especially your pups."

"Excuse me?" Daryl narrows his eyes.

"I can smell the milk on ya." The Alpha wipes his nose, "Your still feeding them? That means they were born in this mess. Can I ask how old?"

The Pack looks at the Theta, who looks at his brother. Getting a shrug from him and his Mate, Daryl huffs. "One's my brother's that I feed and he's about three months. My girl's about two weeks."

"Then why are you out here?" Eugene asks, "Normally Omegas will nest with their newborns for the first couple of months to a year after giving birth."

"Cause this shit hole ain't the world from Before." Daryl opens the driver's door and hops in behind the wheel. "And I ain't that kind of Omega. I'm gonna be out here protecting my family, and I'll castrate any fucker who thinks they can tell me different."

Merle laughs, "That's yer Mate."

"Your brother."

"And I'm damn proud." They laugh again.

"Daryl." Rick calls to his Mate.

"They can if they want." The Omega grunts around the cigarette he was lighting, already knowing what the Alpha was asking. "But they ain't gettin' in the block."

Rick turns to the other Pack. Abraham exchanges glances with the others, then nods. Rick moves towards their truck, "Grab all of the stuff. What you guys decide not to use we can trade for food, water, or meds."

Once their truck was stripped of all their stuff, Abraham's Pack gets in the bed with the others while Rick climbs into the passenger seat, squeezing his Mate's shoulder and sending a warning to the others that they were coming back with guests.

…

Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene were expecting the Pack's Den to be in a house or a store or even be in the woods in tents. So pulling up to a prison with some of the people from the earlier confrontation standing guard with guns and Rick and Daryl's pup opening the gate for them to drive in was unexpected. Some of the guard towers were destroyed and there were people making a brick wall in a section of the fence, others standing watch and killing the Walkers that get to close. They pass a old man with one leg and crutches directing people to stick poles in the ground and tying string around them in straight rows.

"What are they doing?" Rosita asks.

"Hershel's planning on making a garden with some seeds and plants we've found on runs and in the woods. Eventually the food out there will run out, so we need to be able to eat afterwards ya know?" Morgan waves at the man as they pass. He points out the two females off to the side that were making squared off areas, one of the females was the one would come out of the woods with Rick; Glenn's Mate. "Beth and Maggie are Hershel's daughters and they're mapping out where we're going to start making animal pins. Daryl found some domesticate ones out while he was hunting, so we're going to catch them and raise more for food later."

The three newcomers watch the Pack with awe. These people were making an actual Den; a home in this world. The truck stops next to the two girls and Daryl puts the vehicle in park, Abraham's Pack following the others example when they get out. Rick goes over to the women and whispers something to them, causing both of them to shift. One runs up towards the cell block and the other to her father. Rick throws his head back and howls, Abraham stares as everyone turns to the Prime and howls back, shifting into a wolf and running to meet him in the field. Once everyone seemed to have been in front of them, Rick clears his throat.

"Alright!" His voice carries out to the entire Pack. "These three are going to be staying with us for the time being, while they prepare for their journey. They will be staying in the medic area while they are with us, but are not allowed into the cell block at this time. Everyone is here for introductions and then we will be getting back to our chores. Please give your name and rank. I'll start; Rick Grimes, Prime Alpha."

"Daryl, I'm the Theta and Luna."

"Carol, Elder and the Pack's Lambda. So is Beth."

"Morgan and Merle Jones. Our son Duane and our cub Reedus is inside."

"Glenn and this is my Mate Maggie."

"Glenn and Merle are our second in commands; our Zetas." Rick cuts in. The two men purr and scent the Prime on the shoulder.

"Tyreese and Sasha."

"Bob. I'm one of the medics."

"T-Dog."

"My Mate Michonne and I'm Andrea."

"Tara."

"My name is Hershel Greene. I'm one of the Elders and Head Medic."

"I'm Carl Grimes. This is Sophia, my Mate-to-be and our three new Pack members; Patrick, Evan, and Mika who's also an Elder."

"And I'm Beth." The young Omega stops in front of the group, the two cubs in her arms watching quietly. She hands Reedus to Merle and Hunter to Daryl. "I'm a Lambda, and these are Hunter Grimes and Reedus Jones."

"You guys have cubs?" Rosita asks almost silent, stepping forward like she wanted to hold one of them. She looks at Daryl holding his daughter and takes the step back, thinking better of it.

"We do." Rick accepts the baby as Daryl hands her off to him. He starts leading the Pack inside. "Let's get you guys situated and something to eat. I think we're all hungry."


	17. GREATM (Part One)

"That should do it." Eugene wipes off his hands on a rag Glenn hands him. "Go ahead and turn it on so we can see how well it works."

Glenn nods at T-Dog who flips the switch on the generators, Rick watching with bated breath, praying the alarms stay off. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief when the lights flicker on but there's no noise.

"I appreciate you doing this for us."

Rick helps Eugene up, but the Omega shakes his head. "You have been housing our group for a multiple number of weeks now and we haven't really been doing anything but being a burden and more mouths to feed. The least I can do is my services to make such things easier."

"Rosita has been helping lay bricks, keeping the fences clear, adding stores to the map and helping with the crops. You got us solar power and running water hooked up to the prison. I'd say the two of you have earned your place should you decide to stay." Rick leads them out of the generator room, and through the now brightly lit hallway, towards cell block C.

"But not Abraham."

"He's been going out with Glenn or Morgan everyday since you guys got here to look for a new vehicle to get you guys to DC, but the second he comes back he's planning a route or cleaning his gun. The others aren't happy with his attitude either."

"Our apologies."

"You do not have to apologise for his actions. He does."

The four of them head outside where Tara was waiting for them and make their way out to the fence. Rick watches as Merle and Daryl test the brick wall that had been complete with arches, pillars and a walk path that went higher that what they had agreed to when they started. The wall was only ¾ of the actual fence but was two feet thick of industrial concrete and bricks so it would hold for years to come. Rosita had the idea of laying semi-trailers on the other side of the fence to keep the Walkers from being able to climb up and give people seeking shelter a place to keep safe, after they had an incident with one of the Woodbury Omega's getting stuck on the other side of the wall. They had extended the wall past the small section between the two towers and were now checking out the one built on the other side of the gate.

"How's it looking?" Rick pats Morgan on the shoulder.

"Rick." The man hums in acknowledgment. "So far so good. We've gotten up to six patrolling before it got too crowded but they're holding put strong thanks to the pillars and different design for the arches. Thank you Eugene."

"It is unnecessary to thank me as I am only paying the dues of my Pack staying in your territory with my brain." The Omega shifts his feet when Rick raises an eyebrow and Morgan smirks. "Though it is a gesture I will humbly accept and am grateful for."

"Though so." Morgan chuckles while the two brothers hop down from the wall and shake out their furs. They get the all clear to start on the next section of the fences and Glenn leads the group to the cell block to plan on getting more bricks. Rick and Daryl stay behind, watching Carl and Duane helping Reedus walk.

"Hard to believe it's been almost a year." Daryl grunts. Rick hums in agreement. Reedus was almost a year old now; a year since Morgan and Merle were Mated and Lori had died. They wanted to plan a celebration, but they still had so much to do to secure the prison. "Me and Glenn are taking Abe out today to get a car. I told him this was it; he picked something, they stay, or they walk out on foot. But we can't keep wasting supplies like this cause he wants another fucking military truck."

"Did we check out the ones in the nearby army bases? Or hell, the ones on the streets?"

"They'd take to long to get up and running. Not to mention how much gas it would take." Daryl rolls his eyes. "Come morning we'll have an answer either way."

"Alright." Rick nods.

The two split off in different directions, Rick going to help Glenn and Daryl going to feed the cubs. The day seemed to follow any other day since Abraham's Pack started staying with them, until Daryl and Abe went out for their run and came back without a vehicle to find almost all of the Pack out in the fenced yard, staring at the cell block in terror. Daryl was the first to act; shifting forms and meeting Rick and Glenn when they come out the door, Abe following close behind in human form.

"What happened?"

"There was a breach." Rick hesitates before Scenting Daryl's glands with his wrist. "A Walker got into one of the purple halls and went after one of the Woodbury Omegas. Eugene was in the area and was able to get them both out and find us but he sprained his ankle. Tara and Rosita are with him getting it checked out by Hershel."

"Eugene almost got attacked by a Walker?" Abraham growled. Glenn was leading the others back into the cell block after giving them the all clear, and some of the Omegas whimpered as they passed the angry Alpha. "I thought you said we were safe here?!"

"We are Abe, as long as we stay in the green halls." Rosita tries to argue.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? WHY WAS EUGENE ATTACKED?"

"He was in a green hall and heard one of the others in danger." The female Beta sighs, "He went to help and-"

"He doesn't need to be risking his life for these people! They're not his Pack!" Abraham's eyes started to darken to black. Abraham grabs his gun and starts marching to the gate. "Time for a reality check, we need to leave for DC right now."

"This is our home, our Den. We're not going anywhere." Rick growls.

"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here to Eugene and I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier. So if y'all won't come, then good luck to you, we'll go our separate ways."

"You leaving on foot?" Rick takes a step towards the other Alpha.

"We'll manage with whichever one of the cars you'll lend us." Abe snarls. "Unless your Pack joins mine."

"There's a lot more of us." Rick growls walking forward. The rest of the Pack moves to side and behind Daryl who was a half step behind his Mate. "You won't make it. You would put your Pack in danger like that? Over what? Pride?"

"You want to keep it that way? You should come with us then, otherwise stay out of it. They'll deal with it."

"We saved your lives."

"Well I am trying to save yours!" Abraham yells, "Save everyone's!"

"We're not going anywhere, and you're not taking one of our vehicles on your suicide mission."

"They're just going to be wasted when this place is over run with the dead and your people are nothing but bones."

"You're not taking-"

"DO NOT LAY HANDS!" Abraham pushes Rick away when the Prime pushes the gun away from him.

Glenn moves between the two of them while Rosita screams at Abraham to calm down. The asian Alpha places a hand on each of the Alpha's chest to keep them separated. "Hey! Calm down you guys! Stop! NOW! We need to keep levels heads, your scaring everyone."

Glenn waits until they both back away before turning to Abe, who watches Rick but pays attention to the other Alpha he had spent the most time with on runs looking for cars for the last month. Glenn keeps focused on the Alpha while sending his Prime calming emotions over their bond. "Do you really think that you're gonna be any safer leaving right now? It's almost dark; you won't make it to the end of the road before you'll need to make camp."

"Yeah." Abraham grunts, "Yeah, I do."

"What about tomorrow?" Glenn questions, "We need to stay together. You guys need us to get to DC and we need you guys to help us get this place up and running, to make this place a home that will last years. Decades, even! We can only do that together."

"I have an idea." Tara steps up next to Glenn. "If you stay one more day, give us a chance to change your mind, then I'll go with you to DC to help protect Eugene."

"Glenn and Maggie too." Abe shifts his eyes to Rick.

The Prime growls at the blatant challenge for his Pack-members, on his territory. "No."

"Good luck then." Abraham shoulders his gun. "I'm not interested at taking your members or breaking up your Pack. But they're strong fighters that will be important to our mission and that's the only way I'll compromise. Rosita, grab your gear."

"Abraham-"

"Now." He stares the Beta down until she goes inside and comes back with their two duffle bags of supplies.

"Eugene let's go." The Omega doesn't move. "Eugene. Move it."

"I don't want to. I don't want to leave." The man whimpers.

"Now." Abraham rumbles.

"Okay." Eugene makes his way through Rick's Pack as they growl at Abraham's dismissal of his Pack's discomfort.

Rick let's them leave, but snarls when he see where they're heading. "You're not taking our cars."

"Try to stop me." Abraham hands Rosita his gun as he faces Rick. The Prime snarls, his eyes flashing red and he starts after them, his hand going to his knife on his belt. Abraham steps forward to meet him with his own and Glenn step between them again. He grabs the back of Rick's neck with his claws and pulls back, using the Prime's surprise to force him away from the challenging Alpha.

"Wait, wait, wait, STOP!" Glenn pushes Abraham back, surprising the other Alpha at his strength. Without waiting to see if Abraham was steady on his feet, Glenn turns to Rick and checks to make sure he was ok. When Rick takes a step back, Glenn turns to the other, placing one hand in front of him but not touching Abraham.

"You stay- you stay and help us for one more day, and we'll go to DC with you."

"NO." Rick rumbles.

"It's our choice." Glenn turns to his Prime. "It's not your call Rick."

"Half a day." The Alpha grunts. "Come high noon, we're tail-lights. And we're getting a vehicle."

"None of the ones we have will hold that many plus supplies. We'll find one come sunrise." Glenn bargains.

"12 hours. Then we go." He takes the crowbar from Rosita and sets out to kill the Walkers piling up on the fences, Eugene take their stuff back inside with some of the others. Daryl, Morgan and Maggie walk up to them as Rosita turns to face the Pack.

"Why didn't you stop him?" She looks at Daryl, "Rick's your Mate and Glenn could have been hurt doing what he did."

"Rick wouldn't have hurt Glenn even if he was pissed to hell." Daryl grunts. He knew the Beta wasn't trying to come across the way she sounded, so he let her words slide. "And this was a big moment for Glenn that I want to see if he would pull through. I'm proud of ya."

Glenn takes his praise with a purr but looked confused. "What did I do?"

Rick chuckles and rubs the glands on the Alpha's neck, Scenting his Zeta heavily with pride. "You stepped in between a Delta fight; two Alphas fighting over Packs or territory. As my second it's yours and Daryl's job to keep my head level so we don't enter Traditional Pack standing. You keeping me and Abraham from fighting was a good thing, and I'm beyond proud of you for standing your ground. Just as a Peacekeeper should."

"A Peacekeeper?" Glenn tears up, hugging Rick and scenting his Prime with a small sob. "I'm honored."

Rick holds the Alpha to him close before letting him go. "You and Maggie. You were right, this isn't my call, even though as your Prime I would at least appreciate a heads up. Peacekeepers went on Diplomacy missions between Pack's as a sign of good will for thousands of years in the Before. It's one tradition I think we should keep in good spirits."

"Just understand that no matter what happens out there, we're here whenever your ready to come home." Daryl pulls Glenn to him by his neck and scents him.

"Gigwaga, always." Glenn smiles and hugs his Luna.

"Bound blood." Daryl grunts with a smirk. "Our family. Our Pack."

…

"This is our route to DC. We'll stick to it as long as we're able to. If not, well, you got our destination, just in case you guys decide to join us." Rick takes the map from Abraham without a word. Everyone was by the gate waiting for the others to load up the bus they had found with supplies. Glenn, Maggie, Tara and Rosita were already seated while Eugene was showing Morgan, Merle and Duane some things they could do to support the unfinished parts of the fences.

"Once Eugene gets to the big brains Left up there, things are gonna bounce back." Abraham shifts his feet. "This Pack should be there for it. You should be there for it."

"We will be." Glenn says, "We're Gigwaga, where one of us goes, the others will feel it."

"We will be." Rick agrees, shaking the Alpha's hand. "Though you seem to be singing a very different tune than yesterday."

"Rosita knocked some sense into me I guess." Abe clears his throat, "She my Zeta for a reason. You guys do have something good here that will last as long as the Pack stays here. If things go south for us or this doesn't work out…. It'd be nice to be able to come back."

"We'll save you guys some bed." Rick smiles, "Just in case."

Abraham gets into the driver's seat and the others climb in after saying their goodbyes. A image flashes through the bond and Rick looks to Daryl and Merle. He steps in front of the bus, his son at his left side with Hunter at his feet. Daryl steps behind the bus, with Merle to his right and Morgan and Duane next to them, Reedus at Merle's feet. T-Dog and Carol step into the circle, followed by Sophia, and then the others until the bus was surrounded. The ones on the bus looked concerned and a little scared, Glenn sticks his head out the window and calls out to Rick. The Prime doesn't answer, the Pack focusing on the images that flow through the bond, though he does send a thought to Daryl to include their Pack on the bus so they would remain calm. By Glenn's smile and Maggie's teary eyes, they understood what was happening.

Rick and Daryl raise their right arms at the same time, making a small cut on their palms before doing the same to their left. They hold out their right arms with the palms facing down and the left arm with the palm facing up. The other Pack-members do the same thing, before grabbing each other's hands, the cuts overlapping. When the last person connected their palms to complete the circle everyone's eyes go black.

Rick and Daryl spoke the next part in perfect unison, **"Mother Earth and Father Time, watch over them."**

The rest of the Pack calls out, _"Gigwaga."_

 **"Keep them safe from those that wish them harm."**

 _"Gigwaga."_

 **"May the dirt beneath them remain hard as stone."**

 _"Gigwaga."_

 **"May the winds favor them, and hide their scents."**

 _"Gigwaga."_

 **"Son noquisi leiten tou anedolido laronxe."**

 _"Son_ noquisi leiten tou anedolido laronxe _, Gigwaga."_ Glenn, Maggie and Tara repeated the last sentence, Eugene and Rosita whispering it to themselves.

"What'd they say? Son noquisi leiten tou anedolido laronxe, gigwaga? What the hell does-?" Abraham cuts himself off, seeing his eyes change colors. Everyone's eyes were lit up, glowing an erie reddish-gold that flickered like flames. He watches in awe as his and his Pack's eye shift as well. Rick waits until the color has dissapeared from everyones eyes before he has them release their hands, the small cuts on their palms healed.

"What the hell was that?" Rosita leans out the window, eyes wide. Daryl comes closer to the front of the bus to answer her.

"Our Pack is entrusting three members into your care on a diplomacy mission. To not offer you a blessing would have made my mama turn in his grave if he had one."

"A blessing?" Eugene leans out another window. Abraham was standing in the opened door to hear better.

"The earth will protect you from most dangers but not all of them." Merle comes up to the group with Reedus in his good arm. "Taking extra care to bless our Packs was the best we can do."

"Think of this as a trial run." Rick purrs. "Should you make it to DC, or back here, safe without meeting to many Walkers, the earth will have recognised y'alls potential. We'll welcome you as Pack the next time you come through the gate."

Abraham clears his throat and nods, Eugene and Rosita sniff back tears with smiles. The Alpha shakes Rick's hand with a watery "Thank you" before getting back in the driver's seat and starting the bus up.

The Pack watches their people leave with heavy hearts, the bus shrinking in the distance. Rick throws his head back and Howls, sending them good will and an echo of 'Gigwaga' through the bond. The rest of the Pack Howls as well, and they hear the answering Howls and smile before going back to building the walls and planning how they were going to lay the crops. Rick pulls the map out of his back pocket and looks it over, laughing when he sees the bottom.

 _ **'SORRY I WAS AN ASSHOLE.**_

 _ **COME TO WASHINGTON.**_

 _ **THE NEW WORLD'S GONNA NEED RICK GRIMES.'**_

…..

Abraham was astonished at the few Walkers they had seen since they left the prison group. Even camping had been easy; the Walkers seemed to pass right by them without even a hint of knowing they were there, though they had yet to come across a herd. The Alpha was in a good mood so he let Rosita play with his hair and even joked with her when she mentioned it had gotten long. Tara tries to get Eugene to join in the festivities, but he responds with short worded, tense answers. She exchanges a concerned look with Maggie and Glenn.

"What's up?" Tara asks slightly louder, hoping to catch Rosita or Abraham's attention. They would know the Omega better than her, if it was something to be concerned about then they would step in. "Is it about what happened yesterday? Or the night before that?"

"Nope." They wait. "Well- yes. That and tomorrow."

"How long will it be?" Maggie asks Eugene. "After you get on that terminal and do what you have to do?"

"Depends on a number of factors including the density of the infected around target sites worldwide."

"Wait, target sites?" Glenn asks. "You're talking about missiles?"

"That's classified." The Omega looks out the window.

"I thought we were over that?" Glenn sighs.

"What if we all live?" Eugene turns to face the Alpha again, "Those secrets will still matter. Anyway, the speed with which things normalize depends on a number of factors including worldwide weather patterns, which were modeled without the assumption that cars, planes, boats, and trains wouldn't be pouring hydrocarbons this long. Changed the game quite a bit when it comes to air-transmissible pathogens."

Glenn narrows his eyes at the Omega, noticing the way he spoke. Maggie puts her hand on his arm to keep him quiet before turning to the Omega and asking, "Why the hair? Is it a style that you like or does it have a special meaning."

"Because I like it." He shrugs. "And no one is taking scissors or clippers to it anytime soon. Do you hear me Miss Espinoza?"

"Yes, loud and clear." The Beta turns around laughing and flips the Omega off. Eugene smiles and rolls his eyes but goes back to looking out the window.

"Y'all can laugh all ya want."

"No one was making fun." Maggie laughs.

"The smartest man I've ever known loved my hair." Eugene puffs out his chest. "My old boss, T. Brooks Ellis, the director of the Human Genome Project. Said my hair made me look like, and I quote, "A fun guy," which I am. I just ain't Samson."

Abraham passes a small herd of Walkers and the group startles. This was the first time in almost four days that they had seen so many. A loud bang and Abraham slams his foot on the brakes, swerving to avoid some of the broken down cars on the road. The smoke from the engine and tires blocks his view and he clips the edge of a van, flipping the bus on it's side and making it skid down the road. Within seconds Walkers had them surrounded, coming out of the trees to join the small herd that had followed them.

Abraham calls out for Eugene while everyone pulls themselves up and checks for injuries. When the Omega didn't answer Tara calls out for him, moving up to the seat he was in before and checking his pulse. Rosita calls out for him and Tara yells back that he was alive and unharmed, just dazed. Glenn checks everyone else to make sure they were ok, watching the back door where Walker's were clawing at the glass.

"The engines on fire." Rosita coughs, "We have to get out of here!"

"Abe!" Glenn calls out to the other Alpha male, "We'll go first, knock them back and give Maggie and Rosita room to get out. Tara stay here and guard Eugene, come out when it's clear."

"Ok." The two women start for the back door, while Abraham kicks the back door open. "Make sure you don't get bit you guys!"

Tara stabs a Walker that goes through the skylight, and hands Eugene a knife, keeping him behind her away from the windows. She has him go out the door first and comes out behind him, joining the others in killing the Walkers while circling Eugene. The Omega whimpers but grabs one of the Walkers that sneaks up on Tara and holds it while she kills it. Once all of the Walkers are down Abraham yells for them to check Eugene.

"I'm fine." The Omega pants, "Just dings and cuts from the glass on the bus."

"CHECK HIM!" Abraham snarls, eyes black with adrenaline. Rosita moves to the Omega and pulls him to the side, rubbing his arms and legs and watching for any flinches. She lifts his shirt while he whines; three of the four Alphas looking away for the Omega to have some privacy.

"That your blood?" Glenn looks at the Alpha.

"Yeah, old wound. Damn thing opened again." The man pants. "The cuts are finer than frog's hair. Big bleeders."

The bus was on fire, all of their supplies lost. They grab their guns and what they can on Abraham's command and make their way down the road. It's dark before they come across a store to camp out in overnight. Abraham goes in first with his gun cocked, trying to push down the haunting feelings at seeing the store aisles, though these had books on them instead of picked over groceries. He calls the others in and they search the store carefully, Abe's Pack making faces at the prison people whistling with each aisle and room cleared. Tara comes out of the bathrooms with refilled water and they don't question where she got it, seeing as none of the faucets or pipes were working.

Abraham and Glenn move the wheeled shelves to a corner of the room for cover over their campsite while Eugene uses a wire wrapped in paper and a battery to start a fire in a trash can. Tara uses metal coat hangers to make a brace for the cans they were using to boil the water, while Maggie and Rosita rip up books to fuel the fire, the two laughing when the Beta grabs a copy of Twilight and throws the whole thing in. They use some of the string from the book's spine to stitch Abe's cuts closed with a needle Rosita had been carrying.

Glenn and Abraham go on watch while the others make food. The ginger Alpha sighs and turns to the other, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Showing up." He laughs, "It took a little horse trading to get you here, but it's plain as potatoes to me now. You get it. Could have gone back to Rick after the crash, made a case, but you stayed."

"We made a deal."

"You coulda broken it. What would I have been able to do? We were close enough that y'all could have been back at that gate by moonrise if ya shifted and ran." Abraham smiles. "I probably ain't going to be as good as Rick, but I'll try my damndest to be a great Prime for y'all."

Glenn ducks away from Abraham's hand aimed at his neck and smacks his rifle into the Alpha's stomach, pushing him into the wall and aiming his gun at his head. Eyes red and teeth growing Glenn growls until the other Alpha shows his neck, "There seems to be a misunderstanding. I'm loyal to Rick and Daryl; to the others of MY Pack, MY FAMILY. We are here as a sign of good will BETWEEN the two Packs, NOT because we wanted to leave and join yours. Do not jump to conclusions without all of the fucking facts. Try that shit again with any of us and I'll put a bullet in you faster than you can blink."

"My apologise." The Alpha's eyes flash at the threat but he keeps them lowered out of respect. Glenn shoves himself away from the Alpha and leaves him to stand guard on his own. When he gets to the others he sees Tara and Maggie in the corner away from the other two and guesses that something had been said to them as well. He shifts forms, startling Eugene as his wolf passes them and lays down at his Packmate and Mate's side. When Abraham comes back up and stops at the sight of the wolf, Glenn growls. The Alpha ignores them and goes to get something to eat. No one speaks for the rest of the night.

The Pack wakes up early to Rosita and Abraham fighting over whether they should stay at the bookstore one more day to recover or get right back on the road again. Maggie breaks up the fight and they head out to where Abraham had found a fire station, planning on taking the fire truck with them. They check it for gas and weapons before the men hop up in the front and try to start it. Abraham laughs when the engine turns on and everyone piles in. They don't even make it a foot before the truck dies and refuses to turn back on.

"Can't shit go our way for once!" The Alpha gets out and starts checking the truck over again, swearing. "This thing did some serious crowd control. The air filters got to be caked in human remains."

"We'll find another ride." Glenn hops out of the truck, leading the others out.

"If there was anything worth it in this damn town we'd of seen it." Abraham argues. The Alpha goes to start cleaning off one of the intakes but stops when he sees a tire rolling out from behind the truck. Glenn sees it too, as well as the now open door to the station that the truck must have been keeping closed. The same truck that was far enough away now that the door could be pushed open enough for Walkers to come out. Eugene is pushed back inside the truck and locked in while everyone else grabs weapons and attacks the dead. Glenn calls out a warning that more was coming in from the back so no one sees Eugene get out and climb up to the top of the truck until the Walkers were being taken out with pressurised water from the hose. The Packs try to stay out of the way so they don't get hit and take out the ones Eugene can't get. Once all of them were down the Omega shuts off the water and starts climbing down.

"I've been to eight county fairs and a goat rodeo, and I ain't ever seen anything like that." Abraham laughs. He climbs up and starts trying to clean up the filters, laughing harder when he sees a sign on the ground saying the sick were inside and to let them die. They're able to drive the out of the town and down a back road before they have to stop again to fix the truck. The others make a circle around the truck and stand guard while Abraham tries to fix the truck.

"What the hell is that?!" Glenn shouts from the front of the truck. The others move towards him to see what happened. "Guys the wind is picking up , you'll be able to smell it."

The group gags at the overwhelming smell of death and decay in the hot humid sun. Maggie loses her lunch at the smell, and the others lose it at the sound of vomit. Abraham has them keep moving, leaving the truck behind. They make it another two miles down the road before they refuse to move again. In front of them was some kind of building with tents and rides; a carnival from Before. What made them pause was the hundreds of Walkers that were roaming around.

Glenn shakes his head, turning back the way they came. "Lets go. We can't go that way."

The others turn to follow but Abraham doesn't move.

"Abe? We can't go that way." Rosita gestures to the others, "We need to find another way around."

"Hold up."

"We need to go." Maggie tells the Alpha.

"No, we don't." Abraham argues. "They can't hear us or see us from this distance. We're fine."

"Yeah, cause this is the definition of "Fine"." Tara scoffs.

"Let's check the map." Glenn offers, "There's got to be a way around."

"No." Abraham starts to pace. "We detoured from Houston to Georgia, and I'm not playing that game anymore."

"We're not going to get through that." Glenn growls pointing at the herd of Walkers so large they couldn't see the end from where they were standing. "It isn't going to happen, ok?"

Abraham tries to argue with the others, but with Eugene and Rosita both backing down as well, the ginger Alpha bites his tongue and turns back towards the fire truck. He grabs Eugene under his armpit and starts dragging him along, the others yelling for him to let go when the Omega starts yelping loud enough to turn a few Walkers towards them.

"I'm not going to let you do this Abe!" Rosita calls out. Tara tries to get in front of the Alpha but he pushes her off. Glenn shifts and jumps on the Alphas back, snarling. Abraham screams at the Alpha about how he'd dared to attack him, while keeping a tight hand on Eugene. The three females try to pull Glenn off but the Alpha was pissed that the other had laid a hand on Tara; on his sister.

"I'M NOT A SCIENTIST!" Eugene screams in Abraham's ear, jerking his arm away and cradling it against his side. He pushes himself as close to the fire truck as he can and everyone freezes, Abraham having thrown Glenn to the ground and was standing on his chest, Maggie and Tara half shifted while them and Rosita tried to pull the Alpha off the smaller one. The ginger Alpha gets off Glenn and shakes off the others. He doesn't get any closer to Eugene when he sees the blood running down his arm from the grip the Alpha had had on him, and the tears in the Omega's eyes as he watches all of the in fear.

"I lied." He whimpers, refusing to look at anything but his feet as his whole body shakes, "I lied, I'm not a scientist. I don't know how to stop it."

"You are a scientist." Rosita argues, "I've seen the things that you can do."

"I just know things." Eugene shakes his head, "My grandmother said I was on the spectrum as a child; I fixated on things and dug for information until it was dangerous. I couldn't understand grey areas and knew things about things that people in college couldn't understand. I did have a Doctorate and a PHD in Biochemistry, Engineering, and was working on other degrees when the all this went down, but I have no clue what happened or how to fix it."

"You just know things?" Rosita sniffs, "People died trying to get you here."

"Stephanie, Warren, Pam, Rex, Roger, Josiah, Dirk, and Josephine." Eugene's voice got lower with every name until he was whispering. "I lost my nerve as we got closer…. So I put crushed glass from a light bulb in the fuel lines on the bus. We weren't supposed to make it out of sight of the church, much less three days out."

"You what?!" Rosita takes a step back.

"You could have killed us." Tara scowls. "Why did you do that?"

When the Omega just sinks to his knees, Glenn gets closer and shifts back to human form, kneeling as well, "Eugene…. Why would you do that? Answer me."

"I wasn't allowed to legally live on my own in the Before world because of what I am and the Pack I was raised in, especially with my issues. I wouldn't have survive on my own, I can't survive on my own. I was good at lying and things so I thought I could just fake it until we got there."

"Why DC?"

"I had family there." Eugene looks away, "An Alpha that my Prime sold me to. I was supposed to go to him the week before the Walkers serged in numbers beyond comprehension."

"Sold to?" Glenn looked at the Omega in understanding, "I get it; you were scared. An autistic Omega in a Polkrato Pack; hell, I'd be terrified. But that doesn't change the fact that you lied. We left our Den and our Pack to come with you on a trip that could take a year to finish if we're not careful. We could have all died."

Maggie and Tara both forget their anger when Glenn mentioned Eugene having a similar past to their Luna, more concerned now on how to keep Abraham and Rosita calm so they don't attack the Omega or draw a herd down on them.

None of them see Abraham move until it was to late and Eugene had a busted lip and a broken nose. Glenn pushes the other Alpha away while Rosita grabs him and pulls. Tara and Maggie both shift forms and stand guard over the Omega who crawled under the truck to hide. Glenn shifts as well, ready to knock him down when Rosita steps in front of the Alpha with her hand on her hand gun. She keeps herself between Abraham and the others. Glenn shoves past the others and crawls under the truck, freezing at what he sees. Abraham had scared Eugene so much that he'd gone through his first shift, and had soiled himself in submission. A black face, chest, stomach, and paws made the rich brown on his back and tail even more bright. The fluffy long haired tail and ears were pressed so close to his body that Glenn thought he cut off circulation to them.

The smell of urine was so strong that Glenn almost climbed back out, but Eugene was already panting and hyperventilate into unconsciousness if he didn't do something. Glenn scoots closer despite Eugene's chirps- and wasn't that something, a grown man chirping as if he was a child seeking comfort- and tried to ignore the growing puddle getting in his fur as the Omega continues to try to appease the angry Alpha smell, his tail tucked and ears down as he tries to back away. Glenn stands as much as he can and gets behind the Omega, covering him from head to toe and laying his head on top of the others to help ground him.

The others had stayed in wolf form to guard them against Abraham, and Glenn growls when he sees the man's boots pass them. Maggie and Tara keep watch while Rosita tries to climb under the truck to see them, gasping at Eugene's wolf. The Alpha snaps his teeth in her direction in warning and she retreats, moving to the side off the truck and sitting down. Maggie goes to the other side while sending comfort to them and Tara does the same in the front. From his position Glenn keeps watch behind them, from Walkers and Abraham who had hit his knees and was staring at his bloody hands. Sending out his own calming pheromones and feeling Eugene shuffle closer to breathe them in, Glenn decides. They were all going back to the prison, with or without the ginger Alpha.


	18. GREATM (Part Two)

It takes hours before Eugene stops shaking enough for Glenn to be able to move out from under the truck. The Alpha makes a short trip to check on the herd before returning to see how the others were fairing. Tara was making herself busy by dividing up the last of the water in the truck's tanks for them to drink, sliding Eugene's portion in a bowl under the truck. The group sighs in relief when they hear him lapping at it. Rosita was keeping watch over Abraham while Maggie was at the tree line, bent down.

"Hey, you ok?" Glenn kneels next to his Mate and hands her a bottle of water.

"Thank you." Maggie smiles and takes a sip, "And I'm fine. The smell and the heat must have gotten to me, I guess."

"Don't push yourself, ok?" Glenn kisses her on the head and helps her up before moving to speak with Tara. "How's he doing?"

"He's still in wolf form." Tara sighs from where she was laying down to watch Eugene. "But he's eating, drinking, and he's got shade under the truck so…"

"Should we pull him out and take him the prison?" Rosita asks.

"No, doing that will only frighten him more." Maggie shakes her head, "That could cause more damage; he could go Feral. We need to wait for him to come to us."

"Feral?" Rosita looks confused.

"Alphas and Omegas can go Feral, resort back to their basic wolf instincts and forget they were ever human. They'd just try to survive anyway they could." Tara says, "I saw it happen before, right out of training. One of the female Alphas was found out while undercover on a drug cartel and they held her for six weeks before we could find her. They'd beaten her, raped her…. She was missing fingers when they pulled her from a warehouse. She was in a coma for another three or four months and when she woke up she shifted and attacked the nurse. They spent months trying to rehabilitate her, but they ended up sending her to a wildlife reserve in Texas that specialized in Ferals."

"I thought you were still in police training when everything went to hell?"

"I did a tour with the Army before that. My dad got sick and I asked to be discharged to take care of him." Tata shrugs. Rosita nods and looks to Abraham, taking his water bottle and walking over to where he was still kneeling in the road.

"You haven't had anything to drink all day. Take. The. Bottle." The Beta growls when Abraham ignores her. She grabs his hand and shoves the water in his fist. "Seriously? My six year old nephew didn't even pull this shit."

Abraham throws the bottle away from him, growling at the Beta. He stands up baring his teeth her, but turns his head to the others when he hears a gun cock. Glenn and Maggie had their guns pointed at the Alpha's head while Tara was pulling Rosita away from him.

"Sit down or I'll put you down." Maggie glares. Abraham sits back down, head bowed.

"What do we do now?" Tara asks Glenn.

"We need more water."

"There's a creek up the road, a few miles southwest of here." Rosita grabs her gun and slings it over her shoulder.

"I'll stay and keep watch, you guys go." Tara waves them off.

"You sure?"

"I got this bitch." Abraham growls and Tara growls back. Glenn chuckles and heads for the trees, Maggie and Rosita following him. They reach the tree line and hear a whine, turning back to see Eugene's wolf crawling out from under the truck. Abraham sucks in air through his teeth at the wolf with dried blood in its fur.

"Eugene?" The Omega's ears drop at the sound of his Prime voice and he crawls as fast as his shaking form can over to Glenn, hiding behind his feet. Abraham whines, tears in his eyes, while he watches his Pack hide from him. Just like Ellen did. Like AJ and Becca.

"We got him!" Glenn calls to Tara, one hand petting Eugene's ear. The walk to the river was quiet, Eugene staying close under their feet. After a mile or so Maggie and Glenn hand Rosita their guns and shift forms, the Beta climbing onto the female Alpha's back. Eugene perks up at seeing Glenn's wolf and moves a little faster. Glenn shifts back and forth multiple times while having Rosita talk about their trip from Texas. Once they get to the river, Glenn uses his water bottle to scoop up some water, a muddy tan color.

"Perfect." He sighs, "We can't drink this, we'll get sick and that's the last thing we need."

"Here." Rosita takes a rag from her pocket and holds out her hand for the water bottle. She puts small rocks and pebbles from the creek bed at the bottom of the bottle and then the rag on top of that. While she was poking a hole in the lid with her knife, Eugene had come back with a pale and had set it beside Glenn before stepping into the river with Maggie so she could clean his fur. Halfway through his bath he had jumped into the deeper part of the river and came back with a backpack full of water that was wriggling. Rosita laughs when he puts it in her lap and shakes, but she takes the fish from the bag and puts them in a dry bag to let them die.

"When will he change back?" She asks, petting the brown fur on his back.

"When he feels safe." Glenn sighs. "He'll change back when he feels like he's in a safe place with people he trust."

"How do you know?"

"Before all this…" Glenn bites his lip. Maggie takes his hand, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles in comfort. The male clears his throat, "Before all this I was a part of a Traditional Pack that was mostly Betas. The Few Alphas that were there were controlling and abusive, and the Omegas… they were typical Traditional Omegas. I was a late bloomer, so I didn't present until I was maybe sixteen? Normally we present by the time we're twelve just so we have time to adjust before we go through puberty. My family thought I was going to be a Beta so I'd already learned to act like one by the time I became an Alpha. I didn't know what to do, and when I didn't act like the other Alphas they started to treat me like a Gamma. So I spent a lot of time in my wolf form, hiding. Soiling myself and submitting for everyone because I didn't fit in anywhere. I stayed like that until my siblings started to present, some of them were Omegas. I was their big brother and an Alpha. I tried to protect them, so whenever I thought I'd been a wolf for to long, I'd go to them. We play games, take a nap, go running, anything to make me feel like I was protecting them, cause that's where I was happiest. Eugene will be fine. He'll come around, don't worry."

They pack up their stuff and head back to the fire truck. Tara was kneeling next to Abraham, finally getting him to drink something when they past the tree line. They breathe a sigh of relief when Eugene doesn't immediately tuck tail and hide, though he does stop at a certain distance and refuse to move closer. Glenn bends down and pulls the wolf into his arms, causing the Omega to yelp. He releases a calming scent as he walks over to Abe, growling when the Alpha gets to his feet to quickly. Glenn stops in front of the other Alpha and looks at Tara.

"I told him a little about what Eugene would have gone through in the Before so he's a little more understanding about why he did what he did. Even if he is still hurt and pissed." The female Alpha backs up some.

Abraham reaches forward with one hand and pets Eugene's ear gently, causing the Omega to look up. The Alpha clears his throat. "I'm sorry. I let my anger get the best of me and that wasn't fair to you."

"What are we going to do now?" Rosita sits on the truck, "DC is a bust and we don't have anywhere else to go."

"We go back to the prison." Glenn sets Eugene down with Abraham still petting him to keep him calm. "We have the room to stay there and make a life."

Tara shrugs, "It'll only be a three day drive."

The others agree and they all pile into the truck, turning around. Glenn checks the map and marks where the herd is, then has Abraham stop at each store so they know which places to come back to on runs if they ever need to come out this far. The drive back was quiet; Eugene finally falls asleep a day out from exhaustion, his head resting on Rosita's lap. They didn't see many Walkers on the way back and breathe a sigh of relief. Glenn takes over for Abraham once it starts getting late and they pull up to a house that was surrounded by farmland. They clear the house, making sure there were no Walkers inside. Glenn and Maggie make camp in the living room while Rosita and Tara make food, and Abraham watches the door. Eugene stays in his wolf form, staying quiet and out of the way so he does not anger anyone, unsure of his place in the Packs after what happened. They stay in the house for two days while they heal and rest from the heat, searching the farmland and surrounding houses for anything they could take with them.

They leave on the third morning with the farmer's truck and horse trailer loaded down with plants, food, and things to make the cell block feel more at home, including baby stuff for Reedus and Hunter. They arrive at the prison well before dark and Merle opens the gates for them. Morgan throws his head back and Howls their arrival, the rest of the Pack stops what they're doing to come and greet them. Glenn, Maggie and Tara get hugs from their Packmates while Abraham's group stands off to the side while waiting for the Prime. Rick come out of the cell block holding Hunter, with Carl and Daryl on either side of him, and the Pack parts as the Prime family comes to a stop in front of Abraham. Carl takes Hunter from his dad's arms and goes to stand by Sophia and Duane.

"I heard there was some trouble?" Rick spares a glance at Eugene's wolf that cowers at Glenn's feet before returning his eyes to the Alpha, "You're welcome to join us or stay here until you feel ready to move on. But if you join us, I'm the Prime and you will acknowledge me as such. My Pack, my FAMILY, has been through too much and I will not have them in danger because a new Alpha is trying to claim our territory. If that's a problem for you Abraham, we'll let you take supplies and we'll send you on your way. If your Pack decides to follow you or stay here, it is up to each of them individually. You three have until nightfall to make your decisions, but until then you might as well get some food and sleep. Come on."

Rick leads everyone to the new wooden deck in the middle of the inner courtyard, and Carol goes back to the small fire-pit they were using to cook what looked like squirrel stir fry. T-Dog and Bob were using some power tools to set up beams for the ceiling, and Beth was helping Sasha and Tyreese pick out some metal slabs that were in good enough shape to make the roof. Hershel was changing Reedus's diaper when the group comes up and he smiles when Maggie and Glenn come to give him a hug. Michonne was watching the small fenced in section of the courtyard where they had captured a pig. Said pig was laying on it's side with day old piglets suckling from it. They give her a hug too and Maggie goes in to check on the animals health. Andrea was tending to two horses that were tied up to the fence and Tara makes her way over to give them a pat on the nose. Glenn chuckles and looks around.

"It's only been a few days but everything looks so different." Glenn looks at the freshly cut grass and plowed areas in the fields, some plots already have plants growing from were they raided house gardens. Each of the plots for growing food had smaller fences set up to section them off from the rest of the yard.

"We've been a little busy." Daryl smirks.

"It's like coming back to your parent's house and seeing all the small changes they made after you move out." Maggie laughs.

"Well the inside hasn't really changed." Rick throws an arm over Glenn's shoulders, scenting him. "And we still have more to do out here. We had a group stop by looking for shelter, food, a car; we think they might of been from Woodbury cause they seemed to know quite a bit about us. One of them helped us put fix the plumbing for the showers, but we still need a water source for it, and he pointed out a few places we can get solar panels and new gutters."

"We'll be ready if you want to send us out." Glenn grins.

"Maybe later this week, but you guys just got home." Rick pats the Alpha on the shoulder, "Breathe, get some rest. We'll strengthen our bonds before you leave the fences again."

"Sounds like a plan." Tara comes up to give Rick and Daryl hugs. "My dad was an electrician, so I learned a couple of things. Just let me know if you need me."

"We will." Daryl grunts. He tugs on Rick's beard. "I meet you in the Boiler room in an hour."

Rick gives a playful growl and kisses Daryl gently, "An hour huh?"

Glenn makes a gagging noise, "It's like watching my parents talking about their sex life."

"Like we don't know what you and Maggie are doing in the guard tower." Daryl huffs. "Keep the others busy while we're in there, will ya? Merle and Morgan are taking the pups out for hunting lessons and Beth already said she'd watch the cubs."

"We will." Maggie shakes her head with a smile.

"How they doing?" The Theta jerks his chin at Abraham and Rosita where they were trying to get Eugene to eat something.

"Well…. Abraham beat the crap out of Eugene and Rosita was pissed when everything came out. He shifted, maybe four days ago, and hasn't returned to human form yet. Each day we've noticed he acts a little more…?"

"Wild?" Rick sighs sadly. "He's going Feral ain't he?"

"If he doesn't shift in the next few days, I don't doubt it." Daryl crosses his arms over his chest with a grunt. "We're going to make a run at that military camp I told ya about. And I already fed the cubs so I won't need to before we head out. Glenn, Maggie, Duane has some updates for the maps that he wants to run by you guys."

The couple nod and head inside and Tara goes to bring the car around to make it easier to unload. Rick smirks and wraps one arm around Daryl's waist cautiously; watching for any sign that Daryl didn't want him to touch him. When the Omega pulls him a little closer by his belt loops, he grins. "How long do you think we'll be occupied?"

"Depends if you can get it up Farmer Grimes." Daryl raises an eyebrow.

"Don't worry Darlin'," Rick press a quick kiss to the Omega's lips, "I'm not the one that'll need a break."

Daryl snorts and pats Rick on the stomach before he heads out to get a group together for the run. He grabs Sasha, Tyreese, Bob, Michonne, and one of the new kids that seemed to be enamoured with Beth, named Zack. The Woodbury Omegas and the newer group all call out greetings to the Theta and Carol smirks from where she was serving up food. They make sure to bring their guns and extra gas cans incase they run across any cars. Rick gets the gate for them, giving Daryl a kiss and scent the others before they head out. Rick sends word to the Pack through the bond that he was going to check the snares outside the fence and for them to keep an eye on the gate. Glenn lets him out and the Alpha waits until he clears the tree line before he shifts. There were plenty of people that weren't Pack staying with them now and Rick didn't see the point in giving away the advantage of surprise he had with the size of his wolf. Should any of them get to full of themselves or try to challenge him, the look in their faces when he shifts would be worth the bloodbath that would follow.


End file.
